| Located in one of the City of Los Angeles’ oldest parks, the $9M Lincoln Park Pool and Bathhouse replacement project includes a new bathhouse building, upgraded lap pool, splash pad, and landscaped garden areas. Inaugurated in July 2019, the long-awaited City of Los Angeles Parks and Recreation facility was a long time coming, involving a challenging 12-year design and construction process spanning long periods of uncertainty due to loss of funding. The original Lincoln Pool and Bathhouse was built in 1952 as an alteration to an existing 1920’s structure, which was part of the Eastlake Park Conservatories. The 1952 Bathhouse remained in continual use until 2009, when it was closed due to structural failure of the pool as well as a shift in overall operational needs. The scope of work for the new facility included the demolition of the existing bathhouse and pool, and replacement with a modern bathhouse and Olympic-size pool similar in function to the existing pool yet suited for current needs and operational requirements.
The overall design intent was to do away with existing unattractive barriers, which limited flow and views from the pool deck to the surrounding park, and to create a modern, safe and inviting aquatic facility for the surrounding community. A modern sloping metal canopy covers the new building, tying the program components into a single building form that takes inspiration from the original 1920’s Eastlake Park Conservatories. With a simple, modern design that incorporates attractive, durable and maintenance free materials, the new aquatic facility is envisioned to revitalize a blighted, yet much needed, recreational community facility that pays homage to an important historic past.
The new bathhouse allows for natural ventilation, a visual and functional connection with the pool deck, and natural surveillance. The new building is located within a similar building footprint as the original, respecting the established geometry of the original conservatories plan. The bathhouse includes a formal entry, an administrative/check-in area, 13 unisex toilet stalls, 6 unisex dressing rooms and 12 open unisex showers.
The entrance into the new aquatic facility has been designed to incorporate and revitalize an existing adjacent courtyard that devolved into an unpleasant residual space after a 1980’s expansion and remodel. Designed to reestablish a visual connection from the courtyard to the pool deck, the entry court transforms the existing courtyard into a functional destination. New colored decorative concrete in a designed pattern, flows from the courtyard, through the entry, and onto the pool deck. The court incorporates new landscaping (including a living wall) and site furniture - providing a much-needed additional waiting and viewing area for the new pool.
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