The cupola atop the Tourtellotte pool bathhouse represents the facility has been through over the past 80-plus years.
Some parts are original, but most have been re-created to replace that which has fallen to deterioration over the years or that needs updating to meet 21st-century laws and consumer expectations.
Although the city of Mankato has worked to restore past glories while staying within a non-extravagant budget, Jim Tatge, facilities director, has had to live with the fact that much of the original equipment was removed in the 1980s renovation.
“The bathhouse was actually in pretty poor shape mechanically,” he said, standing outside what will be a worksite until sometime in late June. As a guy who likes to tinker with old machines, he said he would have liked the opportunity to look at that machinery.
Instead, pumps and filters and the rest of the equipment were moved to a new equipment building, opening up space inside the bathhouse for user amenities like a nice check-in desk, expansive family restrooms and changing areas.
The basement, which previously had been used as a meeting space, with parts still covered with paint designs and murals to show that previous life, will be used for storage due to there being no required elevator. The basement floor was raised with concrete about a foot, Tatge said, so some doorways will be raised.
For now, the only contents of the basement are the shiny new heating and air-conditioning units, many of them being first-time equipment there. It used to be the building was winterized upon closing each year.
“There will be a lot of different spaces to be able to interact with your family,” Tatge noted upstairs as he moved into the entrance of the bathhouse, where men’s and women’s locker rooms have been swapped left and right.
Late-season cold temperatures prevented laying the concrete deck that is to be the connective tissue between the pools, diving pit and lounging areas of the $8.6 million project. The contractor has told the city that another four weeks will be needed in the coming months to complete the job.
In the meantime, work last week included painting the high ceilings in the bathhouse rooms and continuing other finishing tasks, Tatge said.
“We had to remove most of the interior walls and some of the interior columns and replace those with new material, just to be able to support the roof structure.” Decades of non-circulating air and no temperature controls brought moisture damage and additional threats of damage.
One part of the building that looks great despite receiving no repair work in this project is the stone exterior. Built by little-trained Works Progress Administration craftsmen in the early 1940s, it has obviously received some work through the years, Tatge said.
“It was in pretty good shape.” There are a couple of spots with stone “infill” when doors and windows were moved around. Generally speaking, the exterior was in satisfactory condition.
While the city sought plans from the 1982 renovation, more details were provided through investigative work completed by Jessica Potter and the Blue Earth County Historical Society, he said.
While the original construction included line drawings, and photographs were taken during and after construction, analysis of original shutters and other wood pieces is how it was determined to repaint some trim pieces an off-white color, Tatge said. Those seem logical because they work well against the local stone walls.
This sort of detective work is fitting since past Mankato City Councils, and taxpayers through a special collection for the 1982 repairs and sales tax funding for this one, have shown that retaining the pool and its contributions to the community are important to them.
Interestingly, when the idea for a north end park first came forward in the 1930s, the property on which Tourtellotte stands was at the northern city limits. On Feb. 26, 1936, it was reported the National Bank of Commerce donated about 8.5 acres (which became Tourtellotte), and this gesture was supported by the Junior Chamber of Commerce.
Later, in June 1936, William Sontag of Mankato offered to sell the city a 20-acre plot of land bordering on Windmiller hill — today’s Madison Avenue, which was undeveloped east of about Seventh Street — for a park.
“Councilman J. W. Johnson vigorously objected to this plot of ground, declaring the taxpayers didn’t want to buy any more hills but on suggestion of Mayor F. J. Mahowald the council agreed to take the proposition under advisement,” according to newspaper reports.
Also offered was the Mankato Fairgrounds property west of North Front Street. That offer was later rescinded.
On Oct. 19, the council voted unanimously on the current site and set about choosing a name, selecting The Free Press to hold a contest and offer a $5 prize for selection. Among the names were several highlighting local names, including Capt. John Tourtellotte but also the Lundin Brothers, who were prominent north end businessmen.
Others were from near and far, including Andrew Jackson and Robert E. Lee Park, Le Sueur Park, Wonderland Park, Hiawatha Park, Twentieth Century Park and another nearly dry enough to be chosen: City Park.
A product of the WPA, $28,666 was allotted to the building and pool by the WPA with the larger portion, $38,862 or 57.6 percent, to be paid by Mankato. A $35,000 bond was authorized by Mankato voters with a margin of 300 votes on April 4, 1939. Local architects Pass and Rockey were awarded the contract.
Unfortunately, after a few first years of up and down attendance, Tourtellotte pool toiled away in obscurity. Many Mankatoans in the 1940s and ‘50s grew up bicycling across town, or perhaps using bus service, to enjoy summer days in the pool with their friends. Sadly, upkeep wasn’t regularly maintained.
A report in 1978 listed four expensive options: Keep the pool operating for 10 years with $190,000 worth of repairs to the bathhouse plumbing and electrical; make $427,000 improvements to gain another 30 years of use; create a new main pool, wading pool, new deck and fencing for $476,000; or build a new pool at $940,000.
In July 1981, 1,400 petitioners went to the city as the Save Tourtellotte Pool Committee, seeking use of the $200,000 that had been set aside in 1976 for repairs and maintenance as planned. City officials noted it would take an additional $200,000 just to keep the pool working for 10 more years.
Ultimately, the question was put before voters who, in October 1981, approved a $400,000 bond issue to renovate the pool on a 1,235-328 margin.
Rehabilitation work was completed, though not on time. It opened in early 1983 after delays in finishing work inside the pool building and pool deck, and installation of filtering and pumping equipment prevented fall 1982 use.
Although the area has numerous water parks and swimming pools, including in North Mankato and the Mankato Family YMCA, this enhanced amenity will be welcomed, according to one man who should know.
“The renewed pool will be one more thing that makes Mankato a great place to live and work,” said John Kind, interim president and CEO at Greater Mankato Growth who formerly headed up the YMCA, which oversaw pool operations.
“It takes into consideration that families come together to the pool and will provide privacy to families as they prepare to use the pool,” he said. “The bathhouse will be much more user friendly, both from the quality of amenities to the expansion of available space, since much of the mechanics for the pool are being moved out of the bathhouse.”
With other recent additions to Tourtellotte Park, such as more pickleball courts, improved softball diamonds and playground, the renovated bathhouse and pool fulfills the city’s goal of providing amenities for all ages at its parks, Tatge said. All of this under the roof of that bathhouse cupola.
“In the spring we’re going to paint that to match the new colors of the site,” he said. “The siding itself will be a darker color. Moonscape is the name of the color. A lot of our parks have that color scheme now.”