curley community center
South Boston, Massachusetts
“This space is about all of the amazing things that individuals can do here, you can work out, you can swim, you can take part in all sorts of activities... but most importantly, you get to build community and you get to meet your neighbors and friends who are all a part of our family here in South Boston and the city of Boston.”
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Type: Renovation
Size: 50,000 SF
Status: Completed, June 2023
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“Curley Community Center officially reopens after $31 million renovation,” the Boston Globe, July 2023
The Curley Community Center is home to a variety of recreation activities and community events for the neighborhood of South Boston, and surrounding communities. designLAB recently completed a full interior renovation of the building so that it can better support contemporary users.
Built in 1932, the historic building is central to the urban fabric of South Boston. Purpose-built as a bathhouse by Mayor James Michael Curley, the Curley Center has been a locus of activity for nearly a century. Today, the center hosts a wide range of programs, from fitness classes, to summer campus, to daily senior lunches, and year-round beach access, along with traditions such as the L Street Brownies’ New Year’s Day Plunge. The re-imagined Curley Center continues to support these programs for its ever-growing community while also addressing the building’s critical needs for improved accessibility, safety, equity, and resiliency.
In addition to fixture and equipment upgrades throughout the 50,000 SF, quarter mile-long seaside structure, the renovations include new HVAC systems, lighting, and plumbing. Because the Curley Center is located within the floodplain, designLAB advocated for an expansion of scope that would allow for the implementation of dry-proofing methods to protect the historic building from sea level rise. Resiliency efforts include waterproofing the slab and walls; abandoning and sealing the existing basement; installing doors with removable flood barriers; and moving critical mechanical and electric equipment to the upper levels.
impact
The Curley Center is part of a city-wide network of community centers run by the Boston Center for Youth and Families. BCYF supports children, youth, individuals and families through a wide range of programs and services. They manage 36 facilities in all, including community centers and pools.
L Street Bathhouse main entry, no date. Courtesy BCYF.
Water and air temperatures at the L Street Bathhouse, 1935. Courtesy BCYF.
South Boston, 1925. Courtesy BCYF.
Sunbathing in 1934 on L Street Beach. Courtesy BCYF.
L Street Brownies play cards in the snow, 1930. Courtesy BCYF.
L Street Bathhouse from above, 1925. Courtesy BCYF.
A crowded beach day in 1917. Courtesy BCYF.
L Street Bathhouse, ca. 1920. Courtesy BCYF.