Baño Grande (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

for big bath) is a former swimming pool and historic site located in

El Yunque National Forest El Yunque National Forest ( es, Bosque Nacional El Yunque), formerly known as the Caribbean National Forest (or ''Bosque Nacional del Caribe''), is a forest located in northeastern Puerto Rico. It is the only tropical rainforest in the United Sta ...

Río Grande, Puerto Rico Río Grande () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located on the eastern edge of the Northern Coastal Valley, north of Las Piedras, Naguabo and Ceiba; east of Loíza and Canóvanas and west of Luquillo. Río Grande is spread over eigh ...

. It is also known as La Mina Pool (''Piscina de la Mina'' or just ''La Piscina''), after La Mina River. It is the larger of the two swimming pools built by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

(CCC) in El Yunque, being three times larger than the nearby Baño de Oro pool. Baño Grande is deep, and it is reinforced by a stone and masonry dam of an unnamed creek belonging to the La Mina River watershed. The pool was designed by architects R.E. Pidgeon and H. Randolph (who also designed the Baño de Oro pool and related recreational infrastructure), and it was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1935 and 1938 using stone masonry and reinforced concrete as the material. It was operational between the years 1935 and 1968 when it was closed due to safety issues. Although the pool was closed and swimming is no longer permitted, it remained well-maintained, and today it is preserved as a historic site open to the public as a scenic spot. The pool was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on February 28, 2017, as one of the New Deal Era Constructions in the Forest Reserves in Puerto Rico (1933–1942). Baño Grande is located in the La Mina Recreational Area within the ''Palo Colorado'' section of El Yunque, and it is connected to the trail network of the forest.

Gallery

File:Baño Grande en El Yunque, Puerto Rico.jpg, Masonry dam of Baño Grande File:Baño Grande, Río Grande, Puerto Rico.jpg, Baño Grande stone bridge

References

External links

Baño Grande
Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico Tourist attractions in Puerto Rico 1938 establishments in Puerto Rico Río Grande, Puerto Rico Swimming venues Civilian Conservation Corps in Puerto Rico El Yunque National Forest Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places American Craftsman architecture in Puerto Rico {{PuertoRico-NRHP-stub