When we toured the almost-done Colman Pool renovations last Wednesday with Seattle Parks‘ project manager Garrett Farrell (here’s the resulting story), he insisted we would want to come back to see the final phase of work – labor-intensive hand application of new plaster over almost every square inch of the pool’s surface. And he was right – it was quite a sight when we returned Sunday afternoon. Contractor Orca Pacific‘s president Aaron Kimura told us they had lost a day and a half to the summer downpour – they could have worked through a light rain, he said, but the heavy, steady rain of Friday afternoon and much of Saturday would have washed away their work. However, they are still on track for next Saturday’s opening. It’s a one-of-a-kind pool, as he put it, and a one-of-a-kind jobsite, so we have more photos after the jump:

This was our last look at the pool without water – they were scheduled to start filling it around mid-afternoon yesterday. The next view shows the contrast between the pool’s brand-new cement walls and the special plastic mix that was being applied:

As we learned last week, the pool won’t be filled with salt water initially, because that would be damaging to the brand-new plaster, but it’ll take on a mix as the summer goes on.

The final touches also include the work that you won’t see – in the plumbing tunnel that goes all the way around the pool’s periphery:

What you WILL notice: The plaster, the new deck surface, and a new diving board. (The corkscrew slide is in fine shape and maintaining its spot on the northwest side of the pool.) The pool is scheduled to reopen to the public at noon on Saturday, which is a lap-swim period, with its first open “public swim” scheduled at 1:45; here’s the season schedule. Never been to Colman Pool? It’s on the shore at Lincoln Park, so you have to get there on foot or bicycle. Here’s an aerial view from West Seattle photographer/pilot Long Bach Nguyen, taken in early June:

Compare that to the photo he shared with us for publication in February:

Here’s a quick look at the pool’s history.