Sterling Park District

The Sterling Park District Recreation Center is well along the road to completion and should be ready for occupancy by mid-March or early April. The 23,000 square foot facility will offer area residents year round recreation fun in swimming, sports, athletics and other recreational activities.

The natatorium area to the west end of the building will feature a 42' x 75' combination recreation, instruction and competitive pool with a separate 32' x 33' diving well which can be used for instruction as well as competition. The pool tapers from 3'6" to 4'6" at its deepest part, with the diving well set at 11' 0" deep accommodating a one meter as well as a three meter diving board.

The unique feature of the twin pools is that it allows additional teaching station space around the shallow pool and makes for better supervision of non-swimmers, rather than use of the traditional life-line method of separating shallow and deep water. Fifty feet of glass will open to a sundeck to the south of the constant depth pool.

Park officials feel that one guard can supervise the natatorium adequately depending upon the bathing load with the guard chair situated between the two pools. If the guard has problems, the chair will be equipped with an alarm system connected to the office which will alert help to the individual on duty.

The locker rooms will be equipped with coin operated lockers. There will be 188 lockers in the mens locker room and 108 in the womens locker room. The lockers will vary in size from 12"x 81"x12" and 12"x18"x36".

The Park District office will be located on the first floor and will incorporate the public admissions area for pool users. All scheduling of Park District activities will be made through this office.

The multi-purpose gymnasium area of 96'xl08' will offer a variety of recreational and sports programs to the citizens of Sterling, plus serving as a focal point for community functions. The floor to be used in this area is uniturf which used in place of conventional wood flooring gives a greater flexibility in programming. The PVC material requires no sanding or re-finishing and can be used indoors as well as outdoors free of costly maintenance. Uni-turf is approved by the United States Lawn Tennis Association and the multi-purpose area will accommodate two tennis courts for year-round play.

A 28'x28' lobby with a floor made of brick pavers will feature Park District program displays and a lounge area, including vending machines for soft drinks and snacks.

A 16''x25' mechanical room houses a natural gas fired hot water boiler to heat the building as well as the pool. A filter room area is located below the mechanical room with a diatomaceous earth filter and chlorinator to circulate and purify the pool water every twenty-four hours.

Two stairways lead to the second floor area which will be used for a teen center, meeting room and serve as spectator area to view pool activities. For the present, the second floor area will be developed after the building is in use.

The exterior walls of the building is made of corten weathering steel mansard, supported by steel rigid frames and sandblasted concrete buttresses. The

(Continued P. 96)

Illinois Parks 83 May/ June 1970

Sterling Park District

(From p. 83)

interior faces of the exterior walls in the gymnasium and natatorium are sandblasted concrete block. The interior face of the mansard is faced with fire retardent treated stained 1" x 4" boards at four inches on center horizontally. Natural light enters the natatorium and pool areas at the perimeter through 2' x 2' light panels in the soffit.

A complete exhaust system will cool the multi-purpose gymnasium area and remove moisture and condensation from the pool area. The lobby and office areas will be air-conditioned.

The lobby area has a similar wood strip treating creating a warm, inviting recreational atmosphere for the citizens of Sterling to enjoy.

Illinois Parks 96 May/ June 1970