Pollock Community Water Park

Oshkosh, WI
Construction Cost: $5.98 million
Occupancy Date: June 2006

In 2003, the City of Oshkosh closed the 40-year-old Pollock Pool due to low attendance and increasing maintenance costs. However, the community?s resulting lack of aquatic recreation options quickly became apparent, as residents began visiting pools in neighboring communities. Soon, the combined effort of Oshkosh?s public and private sectors raised sufficient funds to create the Pollock Community Water Park. The design group looked at 17 sites throughout the city but found several advantages to returning to the original site of Pollock Pool. These included its central location along a bus route, its proximity to parking on high school grounds and its status as a city-owned property.

Pool entry is gained through an open corridor in the bathhouse, the aesthetic appeal of which is enhanced by decorative murals. In the interest of visual consistency, the pool area features the same type of wrought-iron fence and brick posts that appear on other city-owned properties. Meanwhile, bright splashes of primary colors highlight the shaded areas and aquatics attractions, complemented by white rope and bollards.

Measuring 8,000 square feet, the pool features a zero-depth entry, a drop slide, a 1-meter diving board and several interactive play elements. Moreover, Pollock became the first municipal pool in Wisconsin to feature a lazy river complete with a tube and body slide, random dumping buckets, wall sprays, waterfalls and a large water playground.