Ligonier Beach site of Titanic movie filming

No, Ligonier Beach is not open.

The shuttered pool, however, has been the site for the last few days of filming for an independent movie about the sinking of the Titanic and its aftermath. The familiar summertime sight of the pool full of water caught some off guard, Ligonier Township manager Terry Carcella said.

“We were trying to caution people — the Beach is not opening,” he said.

Ligonier Beach operated for more than 90 years before it was closed by owners Sherry and Steven Kozar in 2018 after flooding damaged the pool’s water pumps and the restaurant’s furnace on the 10-acre parcel east of Ligonier.

The township is moving forward with plans to purchase the property for $230,000, but that agreement has not been finalized, Carcella said.

Part of the pool has been painted black and filming for “Unsinkable” with life boats has been happening overnight, he said. It was expected to wrap up this week.

Spots around the Pittsburgh area have served as backdrops for the movie, including the Settlers Cabin Wave Pool in Robinson. The movie is a production of PMI Films and is expected to be released in December.

It tells the story of the investigation into the 1912 sinking of the ship, the political forces surrounding the inquiry and the personal stories of those aboard, according to PMI’s website.

Extras were being sought last month, and Youngwood Fire Chief Lloyd Crago has a role as a police officer.

It’s not the first movie to have been filmed in part in the Ligonier area.

Hockey cult film “Slap Shot” was set in Johnstown and released Feb. 25, 1977. Ligonier’s role in the movie featured The Diamond in the borough, a home in the Oakwood Hills section of the township and filming through the village of Waterford.