Comments (0) Best place to stay dry - 2006
McCarren Park Pool
Lorimer St. btwn Driggs & Bayard Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
212-639-9675
In 1936, the Works Progress Administration unveiled 11 pools in New York. All still serve New York swimmers and splashers, except for Williamsburg's McCarren Park Pool, of which Mayor La Guardia once remarked, "no pool anywhere has been as appreciated as this one." For the last two decades, however, McCarren has been appreciated as little more than a home for sumptuous multi-hued graffiti and an after-hours lure to trespassers. Since it would cost a projected $40 million to restore the pool, it remained derelict until last fall when it hosted Agora, a dance performance. Programmers and promoters took note. Last summer, the pool sponsored free afternoon shows by Les Savvy Fav, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Deerhoof, the Walkmen, Of Montreal, as well as rather pricey events ($35 per ticket) with acts such as Iron & Wine, Neko Case, the Bloc Party, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Yeah, yeah, yeah, indeed: In addition to the entertainment, McCarren is the only city pool that doesn't subject its patrons to the litany of Parks Department rules (no closed-toed shoes, no colored shirts, no hats) that beset other public swimming pools.
