In the summer of 1967, a new swimming pool opened in Essen-Kray and quickly became a beloved meeting place: the Bad am Südpark. For its time, it was a modern facility with large glass walls, a bright indoor pool, a high diving platform, a sauna, and even a small restaurant where families enjoyed fries and lemonade after swimming. Generations of children learned to swim here; school classes visited weekly; and older residents met in the mornings for gentle laps.

But as the years passed, the city changed. Fewer visitors came, maintenance became more expensive, and the municipality struggled with financial shortages. In 2008, an official Bädergutachten warned that the pool was running at a loss and urgently needed renovation. Still, it remained open out of habit, nostalgia, and the hope that things might improve.

In November 2014, the final curtain fell. The doors closed for the last time. The water was drained, the lights went out, and the building was simply left behind.