The spring-fed, 500,000-gallon pool at Riverside Park drew children and families on hot summer days, and in 1931, 32,403 people used the pool and the bathhouse's 420 lockers. A sand beach eased swimmers into one end while others used a diving platform at the opposite end. Yet an unspoken policy excluded many of Lynchburg's residents, as social norms reserved two of the city's three public pools, including Riverside, for whites only. After several African American men challenged pool segregation in 1961, the city closed all three pools and, seven years later, filled the Riverside pool with dirt and debris. Although the city opened two integrated high school pools in 1965, the Riverside pool never reopened. Beginning in 1973, Riverside Park became the focus of Black Liberation Day for more than a decade, with annual Memorial Day celebrations showcasing African American ambitions, dreams and talents, while picnics, basketball, car cruising, and gatherings of family and friends made the park a regular place for the whole community.