Dumpster Diving

8/9/2010 Uncategorized

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Public swimming pools have long been a mainstay of American cities, providing – on a steamy August afternoon like this one – much needed heat relief. Fortunately, Boston residents can count roughly 35 swimming public pools in their midst managed by the DCR and the BCYF (and many more private ones). Some, like Veterans Memorial Swimming Pool on Magazine Beach in Cambridge, are clean, well-maintained, and best of all: 100% free. Others, like Mirabella Pool in the North End and Clougherty Pool in Charlestown, have a nominal usage fee ($5-15 for the season), but still offer a great value.

 

Unfortunately, there are few pools proximate to downtown, where pool-seekers might go for a quick dunk. An article in the NY Times featuring temporary pools by Brooklyn-based Macro-sea made out of dumpsters struck me as an ingenious proposition for Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway. Without mature trees and still lacking program in places, these temporary “pools” seem like a light-handed strategy for enlivening the Greenway. Alongside other seasonal operatives like the Dewey Square Farmer’s market, and the (hopefully) permanent Clover Truck, planning for the Greenway shouldn’t have to always be so weighty and dry.

 

– Corey