A new photography exhibit offers Greenpointers a chance to take a walk down memory lane.
‘Pool Party,’ from local photographer Keith Sirchio, showcases dozens of photos of the then-vacant McCarren Park pool in the early 2000s, prior to its revival as a music venue and eventual renovation in 2012.
Sirchio, a Greenpoint resident for nearly 30 years, spent a couple of days shooting the pool back in 2002. Sirchio also owns Thai spot Little Tiffin and recently got to chatting with a regular, curator Carl Gunhouse, about doing a show. The two decided to do something in Greenpoint about Greenpoint. Sirchio scanned the old negatives of the McCarren pool shoot, and ‘Pool Party’ came together from there.
The show opened on August 2 and runs through September 7, with a closing event that day from 12 to 3 pm. Sirchio also released a risograph print book, with interspersed quotes from the 1968 film The Swimmer, based on the short story by John Cheever.
The McCarren Park pool originated as a WPA project during the Great Depression. As the Parks Commissioner for Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, Robert Moses spearheaded an effort to increase city-wide access to pools and beaches. Several of these projects, including the McCarren Park pool, opened in 1936.
By the mid-1970s, the pool (like much other public infrastructure at the time) had fallen into a state of disrepair. The vacant pool sat crumbling for decades, a frequent canvas for graffiti and hub for illicit activities (for a glimpse of the “Ford to City: Drop Dead” era, the 1982 film Vigilante features a memorable chase scene in the pool, as well as other local filming locations). According to the NYC Parks website, “[t]he pool is the only WPA facility to close due to dereliction.”
Starting in 2006, as new young creative types moved in and Williamsburg became a signifier for all things hipster and indie, the McCarren pool served as an unconventional concert space, hosting acts such as Les Savy Fav, Yo La Tengo, MGMT, and Blonde Redhead. The 2005 rezoning eventually paved the way for the renovation, and the new and improved McCarren Park pool opened in 2012.
‘Pool Party’ captures this in-between stage, a neighborhood on the verge of gentrification.
‘Pool Party’ can be viewed at The Java Project (252 Java St.) Open by appointment.