Wrapping up this week’s series is this set of photos from 2003 and 2004. As you can see, for some bizarre reason the NYC Parks Department wasted a lot of money and paint on priming the entire pool white, and then slapping another coat of deep red paint on the structure. It wasn’t long before people were tagging up here again though…
Aside from the epic graffiti find, the buildings of McCarren pool supplied a huge amount of decay porn. Sadly though nearly everything in these photos is also gone – victim of the rapidly progressing gut rebuild of the pool.
Basement under the arch
Old refrigerator in the ruined concessions stand in the back.
Basement hallway
Rusted pipes being hauled out.
The ancient coal fired boiler under the arch – this was used to provide hot water to the locker rooms. The muddy waterline shows how deeply it was submerged in rain water while the pool was abandoned.
Ancient sign.
Damaged electrical panel.
Even though the buildings at McCarren pool were sealed shut, the exterior walls became a whole new canvas for the next generation of graffiti writers. This is how the pool looked in 2001.
Deep below McCarren Pool, where only the most insane insomniac isotopic explorers dare wander, we came across still another batch of graffiti. These tags are much fewer than those of the locker room area, as these tunnels were likely pitch black in the 1980s when these guys hit this place.
This post is dedicated to the Ninja Team of the 80s. Deam, Mint, Finez, Gem, Ivette. If any of you are out there and want to relive your youth, give me a call!
Unknown to most, McCarren Pool contains a tunnel system. This tunnel system is a ring that starts under the main arch entrance and runs just under the edge of the pool in a large square. The rear side opens up to what was (and will be) the pool’s filtration room. Additionally there is a side tunnel that runs below the rim of what was once the diving pool (filled in and set to become a volleyball court).
Instead of hogging all the photo glory of having roamed through this place, I now turn this post over to the flavorful lens action of one Mr. ProZak, who accompanied me on this latest pool excursion.
Stay tuned for our next McCarren Xpose tomorrow, detailing the graffiti found in these tunnels.
When we first entered the former locker room areas of McCarren Pool, I was most pleased at this discovery. It is and was probably the most impressive graffiti discovery of 2010, period. While I know that is a huge, huge statement to make, you really must understand what we have here in these photos to truly appreciate the extent of the situation.
All of these photos were taken in 2010. All of the graffiti you see here (well, with one or two exceptions) was done inside the locker rooms of the pool during the 1980s. The date range of these tags runs from 1983 to approximately 1987. It is rather easy to conclude that during the years immediately after the pool was closed, the entire site was completely abandoned – doors left open, and vandals taking full advantage. At some point in the late 80s the buildings were sealed up with concrete and reinforced iron. From that point on, even while the exterior of the building became an illegal graffiti haven, no other graffiti artists gained access to the locker rooms.
This is most likely the last graffiti find of this variety in NYC to have survived until 2010. I can say this with a high regard of authority, having been in nearly every abandoned building within NYC over the last 20 years. The stock of abandoned buildings here was decimated during this time. Out of hundreds of such buildings the only intact walls of pure 1980s graffiti I ever found was the Graffiti Room in Greenpoint Terminal Market.
These photos represent a small portion of the dozens I took of this amazing graffiti find. Sadly, as of this last month, the locker rooms at McCarren Pool have been completely gutted. No trace remains of nearly all of this graffiti. These photos are the only proof it ever survived this long. I am of course, most pleased to be able to present them to you. Enjoy.
Stay tuned for tomorrows episode, where we go deep into the tunnels (!!!) and expose even more amazing finds.
“While the outside of this location provides some vivid visual input, we are convinced that the real treasury of this location remains undiscovered – and that is breaking into the locker rooms and or filtration rooms. They are likely exactly as they were when sealed, providing a potentially rare time capsule.”
I wrote those words in the spring of 2001. At the time I had no idea how long it would take for those words to be proven 500% true.
Located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, McCarren Pool has a rich history. Named after a state senator, It was designed by Aymar Embury II, and is apparently 3 times the size of your average Olympic sized pool. It opened in 1936.
After many decades of normal usage the pool was closed at the end of the summer season, labor day 1983. The NY Times picks up the story from here:
Flash forward to 1984: Some of McCarren Park’s neighbors barricaded the entrance to the pool, which had been shut down the previous summer. Employees of the city’s Parks Department preparing to restore the pool were turned away by a small group of local residents, who told city contractors to leave the pool in its crumbling state, recalled Julius Spiegel, the Brooklyn parks commissioner since 1981. Their complaint was that young people from other neighborhoods had been hanging out at the pool and destroying the place.
There were many allegations that the people of Greenpoint wanted the pool shut down due purely to racism. Tom Gilbert, writing for The Brooklyn Paper, refutes this idea in a two part article posted here and here. Personally, having grown up in NYC during that time span, I’m not sure I agree with Tom. Neighborhoods were a lot more territorial back then, very much based on race. This isn’t just opinion, it’s fact. Yusef Hawkings. Howard Beach 1986.. Crown Heights riots. These were not isolated incidents – they happened due entirely to pervasive racism and crime at the time. A white chick wouldn’t be caught dead walking down Kent ave in the 1980s. These days that’s not the case at all. To say that there was no racism involved in the closure of McCarren Pool ignores what the times were like back then.
Time marched onward though. And McCarren Pool sat abandoned for years. It became home to homeless polish squatters, drug abusers and degenerates. The exterior walls of the buildings were coated top to bottom in layers of graffiti. It became the sort of abandoned place one could walk right into on a Saturday afternoon and do whatever you pleased.
I enjoyed going there a few times, though with its buildings rather well sealed (with the exception of the lifeguard house at the southeast corner, which was home to the homeless), and a plethora of other abandoned spaces to choose from, it became generally ignored by urban explorers.
Wisps of life began to appear in the ’00’s. Clear Channel got the rights to hold outdoor concerts at the pool. The Beastie Boys played their first Brooklyn concert here in 2007. In 2008, Sonic Youth played the last concert to be held at this venue.
But what was to become of the pool? In late 2009 work finally began to recreate the pool as a year round recreational facility.
It was this work that finally unsealed the ‘rare time capsule’ of McCarren Pool, allowing me to go back and document everything that was left behind between the time the pool was shut down and the time it was sealed up until present day. I hope you enjoy this series of posts this week. After waiting 10 years to get in there, I have to say it was well worth it.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
L.I.C, NEW YORK — June 1, 2010— The LTV Squad (NYSE:LTVX) announces the creation of a brand new LTV Regifting Cache, located in an all time NYC UE/Graffiti location favorite: The Freedom Tunnel.
The LTV Regifting Program (LTV-RP) is a freeganist sponsored program intended to populate abandoned or obscure locations with vast amounts of gift items which are available to anyone to find and take on a first come, first serve basis. Previous locations of LTV-RP Caches have included The Steam Tunnels under Columbia University, The Greenpoint Terminal Warehouses, and the NYC Subway System.
This latest Cache represents one of the largest single regifting depositories of all time. With approximately 50 regifting items spread throughout the tunnel, we are certain that intrepid insomniac transvestite hipster explorers will be uncovering these important gift documents for years to come. It is proof positive that yes… YES… LTV-RP is back in action after all these years.
About LTV:
The LTV Squad are the original NYC UE motherfuckers. Officially founded in the fabulous 1980’s, LTV has been exploring NYC for 20 solid years. The Ltvsquad.com website was (finally) launched in 2001.
About the Freedom Tunnel:
The freedom tunnel is a place of legends. Former home to hundreds of homeless people, this location is a certified mecca for graffiti artists. It has been home turf for LTV since the early 1990s and will remain so for decades to come.
Press Contacts:
Sir McVeigh Lance, Esq.
LTV, Inc.
control {AT} ltvsquad.com
LTV, LTV Squad, LTV-RP and LTV Regifting Program are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Ltv Squad, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
While out for a stroll in Gateway park we came across this delightfully creepy sign.
Let’s go down the checklist: Noctural behavior, hording tendencies, and perchance for spending a lot of time in abandoned building. Sound like anyone you know? The Barn Owl is about as ‘explorer’ as you can get. Not only that, but it is also known as the ‘Demon Owl’ or ‘Death Owl’, making it a prime candidate for honorary SPU local 666 membership.
So here’s to you, Barn Owl…
Not 12 hours ago word spread about a new Banksy being up (located in LIC – not an area natives want such stuff). It has apparently already been Demolished. Floydy McCrotchPants arrived at LTV HQ with a drive containing these photos…
Look at this MFer, he didn’t even bother to put his coffee cup down to destroy this shit.