The glass structure housing the washrooms, lockers and mechanical room is perhaps one of the most striking elements of the Central Park aquatic features. The building was conceived to be literally transparent for two reasons: to fit into the overall aesthetics and to discourage any unlawful activity. The spatial considerations of the structure were somewhat restrictive and resulted in a custom-built manifold and water-treatment system. Inside, the washrooms were built with environmentally sensitive low-flow toilets, and motion-detecting faucets. Further connecting the building to the park aesthetics, a shade canopy runs parallel to the building, and is topped by a stainless steel trough with water flowing into the wading pool.
The interactive spray deck, which includes cannons, activators and 10-foot-tall Daisy Mae sprayers, is located adjacent to the wading pool. As a result of community input, the spray elements are on a flow-through system, designed to be operated independently from the wading pool. Even when no lifeguard is available to supervise the wading pool, both waterfeatures can remain operable.
Along with the wading pool, which features concrete islands, ground spray features, a waterfall and a UV system to help maintain water quality, amenities at Central Park include an interactive water table with troughs for water-manipulated play, a unique dry playground and an embedded artificial turf soccer field. Amenities were added as part of a plan to revitalize a historic park that had become rundown and potentially dangerous. Now, the park is the pride of the predominantly immigrant community it serves.