New Multi-Purpose Facility Blends
With Historic St. Charles Park

by Alan Swift

When the St. Charles Park District began planning its first new building in 50 years, wooded, picturesque Pottawatomie Park was the logical choice at the site. The 40-acre park located on the banks of the Fox River contained a historic pool complex built during the depression. "With the in-town location, parking and other amenities, it was a natural site for a community center," says Denny Ryan, superintendent of parks. "Our main concern was how to build a modern facility that would fit in."

Pottawatomie Park, named by the Pottawatomie Indians who favored it for camping, was also a popular stopping point for white settlers returning to Chicago with grain and cattle to sell. The tract was acquired by the township in 1912, the first park of its kind to be established under a new Illinois park act. It contained a stand of native hardwoods and a pavilion, the only evidence of an earlier plan to create a resort hotel on the site.

Few changes took place until the depression, when the park board received a large grant from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) for some major construction. The largest of these improvements was the pool complex begun in 1938. Two pools were built- an Olympic-size 165' x 75' pool and a 100' x 100' children's pool. The accompanying pool building, constructed with native limestone, housed a large recreation room and a fireplace, as well as open checking areas, restrooms and showers. The WPA also completed a band platform and hillside amphitheater, with seating for 3,000 people. A nine-hole golf course, designed by Robert Trent Jones, was the final WPA project. The course opened for play in July 1939.

The town continued to grow and the pool complex was renovated, but construction did not resume for 50 years. In 1984 the park district began to set aside funds for more construction. Nancy Podzimek, superintendent of recreation, recalls, "We knew we would want a core facility that would be the focus of our programs so we began putting aside about $50,000 a year."

With a $270,000 nest egg and the ability to issue general obligation bonds, the district could contemplate construction without raising taxes. In 1988, after a comprehensive Community Needs Assessment, the commissioners hired the architectural firm of Otis Associates, Inc. (OAI) to develop a plan for a multipurpose room, teen lounge, and craft studio. Recreation and parks administrative staff (14 persons) would be housed in the building with necessary work rooms and conference areas. Two preschool rooms and a small classroom completed the requirements.

A major concern for OAI was the treatment of the gymnasiums. At 7,500 square feet, and 26 feet tall, it was out of scale with the WPA buildings. "We did not want the large blank walls of the gymnasium to face the pool house or the Fox River," said Jack Perry, senior designer at OAI. The solution was to wrap the gymnasium with the smaller meeting spaces, concealing its mass with steeply pitched roofs. The smaller spaces were expressed in a series of gables echoing the pool house design. The wrapped-gym solution increased the corridor area but this became an advantage because these spaces also serve as waiting and congregating areas, much-appreciated in a heavily used building.

The gymnasium is windowless, but the meeting rooms and craft studio have peaceful river views. The locker rooms and dance room form the uphill wing of the building. "It worked out so that each recreation supervisor had a window looking out on activities they are responsible for," says Nancy Podzimek.

The main lobby contains a massive fireplace and high-trussed ceiling. Its glass walls give a view from the entrance through to a terrace overlooking the river. This is the central gathering place in the building.

A split-face block containing limestone aggregate and white cement was chosen to mimic the native limestone of the WPA buildings. "This turned out to be a tense moment in the construction process," says Mr. Ryan. "Initially, the suppliers claimed they could not give us a block to match the architect's sample, but we insisted, to the point of delaying construction of the walls." The result is an excellent color blend with the older structures.

The project was completed in December 1990 at a cost of $2.3 million, and in 1991 it had 162,000 user visits. In the fall of 1991, the 79th anniversary of the founding of Pottawatomie Park, the national Society of American Registered Architects (SARA) recognized the Pottawatomie Community Center for design excellence with an 'Award of Merit.'

About the Author

Allan Swift is a project manager with Otis Associates. INC., a Schaumburg-based full-service design firm, providing architectural design, landscaping, landscape architecture, and structural engineering services.