Kennedy School: A $10 Soak, Then Dinner

The heated pool is a ceramic artwork set in a garden courtyard where the old teachers' lounge once stood. Public soaks run daily from 10:30 AM to 7:30 PM at 10 dollars a person for one hour, and kids 2 and under go free. Book online, then sign in at the front desk, where every adult shows a photo ID. Filming and photography at the pool are strongly discouraged and can get you removed, so leave the phone in the bag. Rain doesn't cancel this. A hot outdoor pool in Portland drizzle is kind of the point. Bring a swimsuit and your own towel. From October through April the pool closes on the first and third Tuesday of each month for maintenance.

Walk back inside to the Courtyard Restaurant, the school's cafeteria until classes ended in 1975. Mahogany booths and eclectic hanging lamps fill the room, and the ales are brewed down the hall at the onsite brewery. Doors open at 7:00 AM daily and close at 11:00 PM Sunday through Wednesday, midnight Thursday through Saturday. Happy hour runs 3:00 to 6:00 PM and again from 10:00 PM to close. Seating is walk-in, with reservations only for groups of 8 to 20.

Kennedy Elementary opened in 1915 and also served as a polling place, blood drive site and flood shelter. After the district closed it at the end of the 1974 to 1975 school year, neighbors, former students and past PTA presidents fought off several demolition orders. On October 22, 1997, the original principal's bell rang at 7:00 AM to reopen it. Murals and old school photos line the hallways between the pool and the dining room. The neighbors still get a thank-you. Residents of most blocks between NE 22nd and NE 42nd avenues, from Prescott Street up to Columbia Boulevard, soak free with an Oregon ID showing their current address, and they still need a reservation.