WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Highbridge pool users will have to stay out of the water for a short while on Tuesday in order to make way for the highly anticipated Splash House, a brand new outdoor changing area to be situated poolside.
The new space, created and designed by a group of architecture students from Parsons The New School for Design, will free up the recreation center’s indoor space year-round.
The pool will be closed on Tuesday, July 26 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. when the afternoon swim session begins.
The Splash House project is funded through a joint partnership between the Parsons students, Major League Soccer, Home Depot, and the office of Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez.
“It is an exciting and welcome addition to the neighborhood, as it will allow us to offer indoor programming while still accommodating the more than 100,000 swimmers that use the pool each summer,” wrote Jennifer Hoppa, Northern Manhattan Parks Adminsitrator for the Parks Department in an email announcement about the closure.
Adults are invited to volunteer time during the construction in order to make “pool and recreation center improvements” while the Splash House is being built.
Children looking for alternative activities can participate in a free instructional soccer clinic between 12:30 and 2 p.m. at the #1 Ballfield in Highbridge Park.
Those looking to cool off can visit spray showers in Highbridge Park along Amsterdam Avenue and West 172nd Street, West 180th Street or West 189th Street; Edgecombe Avenue and West 165th Street; and at J. Hood Wright Park at West 174th Street and Fort Washington Avenue.
Swimmers can also visit the Jackie Robinson pool at West 145th Street and Bradhurst Avenue.
