Shute Park Aquatic & Recreation Center

The Shute Park Aquatic & Recreation Center is a multi-pool indoor and outdoor facility located in Hillsboro in the U.S. state of Oregon. Originally opened in 1954 as an outdoor at Shute Park, an indoor recreation center and pool opened in 1981. The indoor recreation center, which includes a weight room, spa, a wading pool, and classroom space, was expanded in 2006 at a cost of $9 million.HistoryProposals to build a pool for the city began as early as 1934 when the city council referred one plan to the city’s budget committee. That proposal would have been paid for using bonds and be built by the New Deal's State Emergency Relief Administration at Shute Park. Plans to build a pool at Shute Park came to fruition in 1953 when the project was allotted about $90,000 in controlled materials by the National Production Authority, after $90,000 in bonds were approved by voters in June 1950 for construction of a pool. The pool then opened in 1954, and the next year the city decided to keep it operating seven days a week during the summer. That original outdoor pool is long and wide. During the early years of the facility, it hosted an annual water show that included diving, water ballet, and a comedy skit.A $2.6 million bond measure went before voters in September 1979 to finance construction of an indoor pool, along with a second operating levy to pay for the operations. The plan called for a main pool, a sauna, racquetball courts, a shallow pool for children, and a hydrotherapy pool, among other amenities. Voters passed both of the measures for what would be a 26777ft2 center, with construction beginning in summer 1980. The aquatics center was completed in 1981 and opened in September that year. The facility included an indoor pool with locker rooms, a weight room, and three racquetball courts. The new center cost $2.5 million to build, with C.A. Lantz Construction Co. serving as the general contractor. The project faced several delays due to leaks in the roof.