Tour Day 2026: Recreation and Play — Lake Merritt Modernism, Oakland | October 10
In 2026, Docomomo US turns to the rituals of recreation and play, exploring modern landscapes where communities gather for activity, leisure, and joy. The theme includes informal and formal skateparks, roller‑skating and hockey rinks, parks, small amusement parks, swimming pools, playgrounds, and art and sculpture that support these uses.
Bay Area focus
Docomomo US/Northern California will host Tour Day 2026 activities on Saturday, October 10, at Lake Merritt in Oakland, celebrating and exploring the role of modernism in recreation and play. Lake Merritt offers a rich case study of how modern structures, designed landscapes, and programmed activities have shaped public recreation in the Bay Area. Over the course of the twentieth century, the lake and its surrounding parklands became a site for a wide range of leisure activities, and the built environment that developed to support them—from park pavilions and boathouses to playgrounds and athletic facilities—reflects the evolving ideals of modern public space. Tour Day 2026 will also examine the social and political dimensions of this environment over time, including questions of access, equity, and how the landscape has been shaped by and for different communities. More details on the Lake Merritt Tour Day program will be announced closer to October 10.
Oakland Monster by Robert Winston. Courtesy Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room
Equity and historic landscapes
The Recreation and Play theme will examine mid-twentieth-century sites shaped by systemic segregation, exclusion, and discriminatory design and management practices. Recreational places such as swimming pools, beach pavilions, and parks were often governed by discriminatory policies and practices that restricted access for communities of color, Indigenous communities, disabled people, LGBTQ+ communities, women, and low‑income families. Documenting these stories remains essential to understanding how inequities were embedded in the design and the use of these spaces, and how their social and cultural impacts continue to influence who feels welcome, safe, and represented in them today.
Get involved
The Recreation and Play theme is part of Docomomo US’s ongoing effort to explore and protect modern places, following earlier themes such as Places of Worship (2025), Corporate Campuses (2024), and Revisiting Urban Renewal (2023). Those interested in submitting articles or sites related to Recreation and Play can contact Docomomo US at info@docomomo-us.org.