In temperatures perfect for taking a dip on Saturday, Oct. 17, Santa Ana residents and city officials celebrated “a new chapter” for Memorial Park, where construction recently finished on its new $29 million aquatic center.
The new center replaces the pool at Memorial Park that, along with a community center, has served the Santa Ana community for more than 60 years on South Flower Street.
- The Memorial Park Aquatic Center boasts a recreational pool with a waterslide as well as a 25-meter competition pool with a digital scoreboard in Santa Ana, California on Oct. 17, 2026. (Photo by Erin Burk, Contributing Photographer)
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The Memorial Park Aquatic Center boasts a recreational pool with a waterslide as well as a 25-meter competition pool with a digital scoreboard in Santa Ana, California on Oct. 17, 2026. (Photo by Erin Burk, Contributing Photographer)
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In late 2024, the City Council approved
In late 2024, the City Council approved the demolition and reconstruction of the aquatics facility, including a complete renovation of the existing pool, building and area site work.
City officials said the upgrades were designed to provide more ways for local residents to “swim, play and cool off.”
City officials note a former American competition swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist on the architectural team behind the project was “instrumental in helping with pool design, programming and community outreach efforts.”
The design includes a 25-meter competition pool featuring
The design includes a 25-meter competition pool featuring spectator seating and a digital scoreboard, as well as a recreational pool offering an exercise channel and water slide. Additional amenities include a community room, pool deck seating, as well as lifeguard and staff offices and equipment rooms.
“Chicano Gothic,” a mural painted in 1987 on the existing pool facility by muralist Emigdio Vasquez was also preserved.
The mural was reinforced and restored in its original location and incorporated into the park’s master plan as an entry marker, officials said, “that welcomes people into the reimagined Memorial Park.”
