The Bath House and pool opened in July of 1955, without the roofs on the Bath House. The roofs were added before the opening of the 1956 season. The Day Camp Pavilions were constructed shortly after the Bath House. None of the landscaping or the community center were completed to Kahn’s design, despite designs and sketches extending into 1958. The architect-client relationship was uneven, likely due in part to a lack of consensus on the part of the client.
While some of the JCC leaders were eager to have Kahn’s visionary design, it was by no means unanimous. They also suffered from a lack of funding, which made them cautious of committing to Kahn’s comprehensive schemes for the property. Nick Gianopulos, Kahn’s structural engineer from Keast and Hood, has said that “...the JCC treated Lou dreadfully.”
The design work was productive for Louis Kahn, despite the lack of commitment from his client. He attributed the germination of his philosophy of servant and served spaces to the Trenton Bath House. This nine-square plan is based on a tartan grid, with the narrow zones providing the square corner piers and rectangular servant zones. The corner piers are the primary structure of the buildings, and also serve for entrance, storage, access to vaults, and shelter for toilet facilities. The rectangular zones provide for circulation around the inner square focal point of each structure, and at the locker rooms provide natural light.