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The 2011 California Governor’s Historic Preservation Awards were presented on November
17th at Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park in Sacramento.
There were a total of 12 projects or programs that received awards.
What follows is the presentation made at the awards ceremony about one of the 2011 award
winners. Richmond Municipal Natatorium
This award recognizes the rehabilitation of the Richmond Municipal Natatorium (also known
as the Plunge), a historic public indoor swimming pool listed on the National Register.
The Natatorium was designed by architect James T. Narbett in 1925 and constructed on land
donated to the City of Richmond. The Natatorium’s civic importance stemmed
from the fact that during World War II Richmond’s huge shipbuilding yards attracted thousands
of workers from widely diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, an influx that swelled
the population and led to racial tension. At the Plunge, however, those tensions were
put aside, and Richmond’s citizens were able to enjoy themselves in an atmosphere
of civic unity and harmony. By 1997 the Plunge’s systems were near collapse,
especially the hollow clay tile exterior walls. In 2006 architect Todd Jersey, inspired by
a documentary on the Plunge, developed a strategy to reopen the pool for an attainable budget.
Jersey’s firm spent four years supporting every aspect of the project until the August
2010 public reopening. As the jury for this year’s awards noted:
At the Richmond Municipal Natatorium determined and creative people, combined with “green”
strategies, have returned a civic gem to its rightful role as a valuable community gathering
place. Congratulations to all the winners of the
2011 California Governor’s Historic Preservation Awards.
Please view the additional videos available on this site for information about the other
2011 award winners. For more information about this awards program,
visit www.ohp.parks.ca.gov/governorsawards.