Drainhole

Diamond Jim's was a local hot spot, especially in the summer, as it was a small waterpark that drew regular visitors from within the rapidly growing city and nearby communities. It was more than just a waterpark, however, as there was also an arcade and a go-cart track.

The waterpark wasn't particularly large. In fact, it was situated on only 6 or 7 acres of land. Several winding, tall waterslides provided wet thrills, as a couple of them had a 2 or 3 meter drop-off at the end, riders making a splash into a deep pool.

However, financial hardship came upon Diamond Jim's in the mid-1990s, and bankruptcy was declared in 1998. The owners were ready to sell, and they did so to a local unnamed billionaire who bought it in 2002, with the dream of restoring it to it's former glory and rebranding the iconic property.

By now, the elements had taken their toll on the Diamond Jim's property, as upkeep had gotten too expensive for the former owners. Now in a state of disrepair, the unknown new owner was ready to renovate.

For some unknown reason, the pool was never drained, even in winter. The filtration system still ran, always keeping the pool water mostly clean all year round. However, the filtration system was aging, and was badly in need of replacement.

It was in spring of 2002 that "3-D Deep Dive Pools, Inc." was contracted by to do pool restoration and maintenance work on the former Diamond Jim's property. The company sent out a team of three men to do the work, whose names were Derek, Dean, and Don.

The crew arrived on site, and began their prep work. The first task was to drain the pool. The pump was located in a tin maintenance shed under one of the large water slides. Derek was tasked with this, and he found that the drain pump was unconventional and strange. There was a switch with a "Open portal to drain" label, and another identical switch with a "Drain pool" label. Confused, Derek simply flipped both switches, just to be sure.

The pool drained in a matter of minutes, which was strange and unexpected. Typically, it takes a couple hours to drain a larger in-ground pool, like this one.

Most of the pool wasn't more than a meter deep, but the deep-end went down much further than the crew had anticipated, into a deeper pool pit. In the wall of the deepest part was a circular tunnel, lined with the same blue grid tiles as the rest of the pool. The tunnel seemed to lead into an endless blue abyss.

The crew lowered a ladder to get down to the strange drain hole. They climbed down into the pit of the pool... never to be seen again.

~~~~~~~~

No one knows what happened to Derek, Dean, and Don. The story of their disappearance sparked speculation about why Diamond Jim's closed permanently, and urban legends sprung up surrounding the abrupt closure.

It was very shortly after the closure that Diamond Jim's was demolished. Today, all that remains is a wooded space between two now-abandoned retail properties. The identity of the billionaire who bought the property has never been revealed, and it is uncertain if the unknown party ever even existed at all.

The strangest aspect of the destruction of Diamond Jim's was the secrecy of it's demolition. The waterpark had been right next to a residential neighborhood, so there had been witnesses who said that the demolition took place at night, and that the pool had been quickly filled in with dirt, burying it's secrets.

Today, Diamond Jim's exists only in the deep memories of those who had enjoyed it while it had existed.