Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Pantin's swimming pool, located in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, was built between 1935 and 1937 at the initiative of the Pantin Town Hall, as part of the project of a nearby water plant. Designed by architect Charles Auray (son of the former mayor of Pantin) and engineer Jean Molinie, it was one of the first municipal swimming pools in the Paris region. Its water supply, drawn from the deep water table, was a technical innovation for the time. Inaugurated in 1937, it is distinguished by a sober facade in red bricks, embellished with black enamelled sandstone and portholes, while its interior mixes blue earthenware, mosaics and geometric motifs.

Originally named swimming pool Leclerc with reference to its address on Avenue du Général-Leclerc, it was renamed in 2022 in tribute to Alice Milliat, pioneer of women's sport and exceptional rowing. In 1961, she hosted the first live television program of the ORTF, an aquatic catch game led by Raymond Marcillac and Raymond Mulinghausen, then manager of the swimming pool. Its main basin, 33 meters long, was initially accompanied by 150 individual cabins, before a major renovation between 2020 and 2022.

This renovation, costing EUR 58 million, added a second 25 metre basin and integrated an adjacent music and dance conservatory. Ranked a historic monument since 21 January 1997 for its Art Deco architecture and its role in local social and sports history, the swimming pool illustrates the evolution of public facilities in the 20th century. Its style, marked by symmetry and industrial materials, reflects the hygienist and cultural ambitions of the inter-war period.

The swimming pool is now managed by the public territorial establishment Est Ensemble, which has overseen the Territory's aquatic facilities since 2011. Its history interspersed with that of the nearby water factory and its anchoring in Pantin's collective memory make it an emblematic place, both architectural heritage and living space dedicated to sport and culture.

External links