I went to John Ericsson JHS 126 in the early 90’s which sits right across the street from McCarren Park and I got many a view of that infamous pool. My dad swam in it as a kid, so did my sisters mom. Heck maybe GG was conceived in that Pool. Nah, she’s born in October so the Pool in late January wouldn’t have been conducive to lovin’.
The Pool was closed in 1984 but I don’t recall going there as a kid myself. I might have. I could see that being a place my Grandpa would’ve taken me. But I’m thinking by the early 80’s that pool was more than likely a cesspool and I was probably never in it.
I came upon this post by mollifire on mog.com and the video in it shows McCarren Park almost exactly how I remember it (though they did do a bit of ‘landscaping’). Totally worth re-posting.
The place was “quarantined” for as long as I can remember. It was just the sort of place where kids went bombing and to smoke a blunt. My fondest memory of McCarren Park is watching Spike of Bensonhurst and salivating over Sasha Mitchell. In 1988 that was like the only claim to fame Greenpoint had in the movies. Too bad everyone thought it was Bensonhurst.
So now McCarren Pool hosts concerts and crafts fairs. Who woulda thunk it? We got tickets to see Erasure on August 2nd and I’m salivating the thought of getting tickets to see Modest Mouse there in September. Little Greenpoint natives like myself have to actually ‘save up’ for things like that. Apparently, my trust fund hasn’t kicked in yet.
I haven’t been to a concert there yet so I’m looking forward to seeing how the “amenities” are. Sitting my ass on a concrete pool floor isn’t exactly a romancing thought but I imagine it’ll be better than the dirt dustbowl Randall’s Island was for the Dave Matthews Band concert a couple of years ago. I had to have my favorite sandals re-soled and lined from that muck-fest.
Tonight we’re checking out that Animation Block Party thing I posted about yesterday. Got our tickets and looking forward to it. And maybe I’ll finally catch those muthafuckas who stole my nameplate.
McCarren Pool had to have closed during the seventies. I had lived down the block from the pool from 1980 thru 1984 and during that time I had never seen water in those pools.
During 1970-71 summers local bands would perform next to the pool in the playground/basketball court area. And it was all FREE.
I remember swimming in McCarren Pool during the sixties – it was still pretty nice at that time. You could get in to swim and get a locker for a dime.