A Florida couple is garnering renewed attention for their uniquely shaped pool that showcases their affinity for guns and gun culture.
“All the neighbors who have bought houses around here have come,” Louis Minardi, who lives near Tampa, said of his revolver-shaped pool that has been in his backyard for about 40 years.
“Everybody’s like, ‘Is this guy a nutcase?'”
Minardi says the story goes back to an idea proposed by his high school friend, Albert Jones III, who was a contractor getting tired of building traditional swimming pools.
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This Jan. 24, 2023, photo shows the gun-shaped pool in the backyard of Louis and Raye Ellen Minardi in Odessa, Florida. The pool in the backyard of Louis Minardi’s home may be distinctively Florida: The custom-built pool is shaped like a six-shooter, in a state made famous, sometimes infamous, for guns, politics and gun culture. (Mary J. Whitworth/Fresh Take Florida via AP)
Minardi was reluctant at first, but the idea resonated with him, given his lifelong relationship with guns. Minardi, now 67, said he grew up hunting with friends and remembers receiving his first firearm, a double-barreled shotgun, when he was in high school but already aware of gun safety. .
Minardi said he opened a gun shop with his brother after attending classes in 1976 and in the 1980s he and his wife decided they wanted a pool and called Jones, owner of AH Jones Pools Inc.
It was then that the decision to make the pool in the shape of a 55 foot gun was born.
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Louis Minardi and Raye Ellen Minardi sit by their pool on Gunn Highway in Odessa, Florida on January 29, 2023. The pool in the backyard of Louis Minardi’s home may be distinctively Florida: the custom-made pool measure is in the form of a six-shooter, in a state made famous, sometimes infamous, for guns, politics and gun culture. (Lauren Whiddon/Fresh Take Florida via AP)
“You’re going to think I’m crazy,” Jones said, according to Louis Minardi. Knowing Minardi’s background as a gunsmith, Jones was presented with blueprints inspired by a Ruger Blackhawk, a 1950s-era Western-style revolver characterized by its long barrel and known for its durability and accuracy.
“You swim your way around the barrel,” Louis Minardi said Jones told him. “It gets deeper at that end. You can flip and then you can swim back.”
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Tampa downtown skyline (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Jones begged him to let him build the weapons group, Louis Minardi said. He said he was tired of building kidney-shaped pools, a Florida backyard staple. Minardi agreed, as long as he stayed within the budget of his project.
Jones, who died in 2010, color-coordinated the pool’s perimeter tiles to accurately reflect the revolver’s brown handle and silver barrel. She detailed mosaics on the bottom of the pool to distinguish the individual components of the weapon, such as the trigger and ammunition chamber. And he installed a jacuzzi in the hammer.
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The pool has been resurfaced over the years, but the original shape of the gun remains and Minardi says it’s popular with family and friends. Plus, Minardi says it serves as a reminder of the importance of responsible gun ownership.
“If you’re qualified, mentally capable of having one and protecting yourself, I think you should have one if you want it, whether you keep it at home or carry it with you,” Minardi said. “But it’s like everything. It is educate. It’s educating people about guns, how they work.”
Associated Press contributed to this report.
