Piscine Molitor
Piscine Molitor stands in Paris’s sixteenth arrondissement, near the Bois de Boulogne, as a swimming-pool and hotel complex. Two pools shape the complex’s distinctive central layout. Built in 1929 by Lucien Pollet, the architecture evokes an ocean liner, complete with Art Deco stained glass by Louis Barillet.
Olympic swimmers Aileen Riggin, Matthew Gauntlett, and Johnny Weissmuller inaugurated the pools, where Weissmuller also worked as a lifeguard. Fashion shows, theatre performances, and figure-skating training later filled the venue. In 1946, Louis Réard introduced the bikini during a fashion show there, bringing international attention.
Closure in 1989 brought years of neglect, while SOS Molitor defended the site and helped secure monument historique classification in 1990. Restoration returned the complex to its original style before its reopening in 2014. A four-star hotel, health centre, medical centre, restaurants, shops, and parking now accompany the two pools. The former ice-skating venue thus preserves a vivid link between sport, design, fashion, and Parisian cultural life.
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