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Sprawling new rec center at Central Park's Harlem Meer lake to open next spring
By
Liam Quigley
Published Nov 9, 2024
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Liam Quigley
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Liam Quigley
Published Nov 9, 2024
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A sprawling new recreation center is set to open up next to the Harlem Meer lake in Central Park next year, marking the completion of a historically large investment in the northernmost section of the park.
The multipurpose space, which is officially called the Davis Center at the Harlem Meer, will house a swimming pool in the summer, an ice skating rink in the winter and will be capped with a turf field in the interim months. It will also include the eighth-largest pool in New York City. The $160 million project began in 2021, when workers began tearing down and excavating the site of the old Lasker Rink and Pool to replace it with a brand new center. Officials said the new space will open in April.
The center is at the northern end of the park just south of 110th Street. The pool will be operated by the city parks department in the summer, officials said.
The facility will be open year-round, according to the Central Park Conservancy, which has been leading the project since the Lasker Rink and Pool shut down after years of infrastructure issues that caused regular leaks and closures. The beloved old center was built in the mid-1960s and was operated by the Trump Organization before its closure.
The center will feature a green roof and new, accessible pedestrian walkways that tie the center to the natural environment of the park, said Christopher Nolan, project's executive. He said the project was one of the most complex in the park's history.
The new space will have the city's eighth largest pool.
Courtesy Central Park Conservancy
“I've worked for the park for more than 30 years and I've worked on incredible projects. This is truly the capstone,” he said.
As part of the project, crews had to unearth and redirect a stream beneath the center. The project also brought upgrades to the walking path along the Harlem Meer, which was built with rocks excavated during the old rec center's demolition.
“The difference between the old Lasker and this is just you feel like you're in the park,” said Betsy Smith, president of the Central Park Conservancy.
Christopher Nolan, the chief landscape architect at the Central Park Conservancy.
Liam Quigley
An added benefit to the new design is that it won’t shut down when it’s too warm to skate and too cold to swim, thanks to the addition of a turf platform that can be used to cap the space.
“I sort of see it as unprogrammed, unpermitted and just sort of like the sheep meadow of Harlem,” said Smith. “Sort of like you just bring your picnic and hang out here.”
“It doesn't look like a municipal facility," she added. "It looks like this beautiful gift to the city, which is what it is."
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Liam Quigley
Liam Quigley is a reporter covering parks & sanitation for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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