By Thomas martin
Published on 4 Apr 21 at 11:47
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It’s here luxury swimming pool ultimate. Since its reopening with great fanfare in 2014, following works by architect Jean-Philippe Nuel with his 5-star hotel, Molitor has become the top-of-the-range basin of the capital. And has since returned to a mythical past.
Swimming pool and ice rink
Inaugurated in 1929 in the 16th arrondissement by Olympic medal-winning swimmers Aileen Riggin Soule and Johnny Weissmuller, the first Tarzan of the cinema, the Art Deco-style place hosts fashion shows, nautical galas, theatrical performances as well as training. in winter French skating champions.
It was at the edge of its pools, in 1946, that the bikini appeared.
The swimming pool is made up of two pools, one covered with 33 meters, surrounded by two galleries of cabins and another open-air 50 meters which, each winter, was transformed into the largest skating rink in Paris. With around three levels of cabins.
The decline of the Molitor swimming pool began in 1970 with the final closure of the ice rink which replaced the outdoor pool in winter. This activity offered to Parisians required a month and a half of work to set up, over barely five months of operation. The financial losses were considerable.
–Dark hours and rebirth
But, on August 31, 1989, the swimming pool closed definitively. The facade and the main entrances are walled up, it is threatened with destruction.
It is then squatted and handed over to graffiti artists. From time to time, festive events, sometimes illegal, are organized there.
–The regulars of the places and the inhabitants of the district fight and obtain its inscription in the Historic Monuments.
However, exposed to bad weather, the swimming pool suffered a lot of damage. The walls are crumbling, the bottom of the summer pool is cracking, the paintings of the cabins and balusters have disappeared. Undoubtedly too much damage to save the place. The whole was completely destroyed in 2012 with the exception of the wall of the east facade and a few decorative elements.
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The Rolls by Eric Cantona
When you enter the lobby of the Molitor hotel, your attention is immediately drawn to a tagged Rolls Royce enthroned in the lobby. This is Eric Cantona’s ex-Rolls-Royce Corniche.
In November 2012, the former footballer and actor brought her to the set of the Grand Journal, on Canal + and during the show, she was decorated by the street artist JonOne, alias John Perello. This makes it a unique device offered to the Abbé-Pierre Foundation.
Offered at an auction by Artcurial, it is bought by a collector for 125,000 euros.
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For 80 million euros, the place becomes a top-of-the-range complex with two pools, a hotel with 124 rooms, a restaurant, a bar, a rooftop …
To swim in the legendary pools, you must either stay at the hotel or be a member of the club with an entrance fee of 1,200 euros and an annual membership of 3,300 euros.
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