Buildings

Happyland Pool

Address:520 Marion Street
Original Use:Civic swimming pool
Constructed:1960–62
Architects:Nikola Zunic
Tours:Part of the QR Code Tour

More Information

Happyland Park Swimming Pool is a public pool surrounded by a concrete suntan area and serviced by a simple masonry structure. This small building, designed by Nikola Zunic, is constructed of painted concrete block, laid in a textured pattern reminiscent of stylized waves, and has a flat, eave-less roof. Entry into the change rooms and pool is through a single door off Marion Street. Mechanical services are accessed at the opposite end of the complex, in a partially recessed concrete block structure. A children's wading pool is in a separate enclosure just east of the site.

The pool is sited within the larger Happyland park, originally designed as a transitional space that transported industrial runoff from the Canada Packer's Plant (demolished in 2001) into the Seine River. A pool has been at the site since 1935, when it was built by the Kiwanis Club.

A former brownfield site, Happyland has developed into an urban park, and functions as a physical divide between a high traffic commercial and industrial development area and the residential neighborhoods of St. Boniface and Norwood Grove.

Design Characteristics

  • Suntan Area on deck
  • Originally had 2 deep end water slides
  • Slab on grade concrete foundation
  • Painted concrete block structure
  • Happyland Pool shares aesthetic and functional qualities with other civic pools within Winnipeg, and specifically its local area, including Norwood Pool, Provencher Pool and Windsor Park Pool.