Raymond W. Smith

Dormont Raymond W. Smith

Dormont Borough, incorporated in 1909, had slightly less than 10,000 citizens when I lived there in the 1950's. It had no streets, only avenues, and many of them named after the states of the union-like a Monopoly board. Its two connected business districts on Potomac and West Liberty Avenues provided tidy commercial areas that filled the needs of its citizens. I once counted 14 bars. And most prominent of all, Dormont's 26-acre park stood at the heart of the borough. It had a huge swimming pool, a number of athletic fields and many alcoves to hide in. Picnics, sports events, dances, sled riding, proms at the bathhouse, fireworks on Memorial Day (which we typically called Dormont Day) gave its citizens an extraordinarily encapsulated experience. From our point of view, Dormont Park, and, in fact, Dormont itself, was complete.