This building is not a warehouse like most people that pass by it daily think, i

t actually used to be the swimming pool of Team Rapid Bucharest where people of
all ages came to enjoy a casual swim or to train.
HISTORY
Its history starts in the 80' when it used to be an open air pool for the people
in the
Giulesti neighborhood which was later covered to allow polo players to train dur
ing winter. However, this didn't last long as Elena Ceausescu, for unknown reaso
ns, ordered
to retransform the pool into an open air one just before the Romanian Revolution
happened.
Shortly after 1990 when a roof for the pool was supposed to be built again, the
funds that
should have been used for its reconstruction ran out and thus the Giulesti Swimm
ing Pool
remained forgotten in history, never to be finished. Another important factor th
at lead to
its demise was its size: 33 meters by 16 meters which did not coincide with The
National Polo League standars which are 33 meters by 20 meters.
Currently, the ruin is used as a meeting place for Rapid fans to celebrate their
team's
victories or to play football, its supporters messages cover every wall of this
construction.
UAB EXPLORATION
Our exploration session was quite intense: from entering in the CFR zone below G
rand Bridge (which is a restricted area),to convincing the guards to letting us
in (we told them we were't there to spray graffity) and climbing on the outside
to be able to crawl
inside through a small window. Inside the building, the first thing that stood o
ut was
the swimming pool, which was covered in graffity from the team's supporters. Exp
loring
further we stumbled into the pipes that supplied the basin with water, we stoppe
d our
exloration there as we did not want to disturb the people living there.
CONCLUSION
The Giulesti Swimming Pool is a part of the history of Giulesti neighborhood tha
t is wainting for its demise. No one knows when or even if it will be demolished
or renovated.
It has been a plesure for us to visit this building and admire the "artwork" on
its walls.