ReadyMade Magazine, the DIY Bible for Gen X, has a blog post on Brooklyn's cool new insider hangout, the dumpster swimming pool.
New York's hippest borough is home to a lo-fi country club in the industrial neighborhood of Redhook. Its centre piece is a swimming pool made from three recycled industrial bins
The dumpsters, about seven metres long and 1.5-metres deep, are lined with heavy plastic and a bed of sand. Each contains about 6,000 gallons of fresh water that runs through a chlorinated filter. Wooden decking, plastic patio chairs and barbecues complete the picture. There's even an outhouse. Acces to the club is by invitation only.
Project spokeseman Jocko Weyland reckons a halfway handy DIYer could put together a pool for less than $1,000. Maybe cheaper, if you know where to steal a dumpster (Let's be honest folks, don't we all?).
By the sounds of it, the Montreal equivalent would be to set up a secret swim club somewhere on the Lachine Canal in the wilds of Ville St. Pierre or industrial La Salle. You know the kind of place I'm talking about; it screams transmission fluid not tanning lotion.
The company, Macro Sea, has gleaned a ton of press in the New York papers for this offbeat idea. Spokesman Jocko Wayland says he and his partners were motivate to create their secret spa because there are so few places to swim in New York.
I suspect it has more to do with not wanting to be surrounded by squalling kids, screaming mums and fat guys with hairy backs in Speedos. Or maybe I'm projecting.
To me, the cool thing is that Macro Sea thought outside the box and found a new purpose for something as smelly, disgusting and ubiquitous as the common dumpster. It's part of their larger corporate mission to bring new life to underused urban spaces like strip malls.
You can read The New York Times story and watch a video here.
Very awesome, Mary...you are one of my fav writers, very funny. From Leigh Bowie (Cathleen's friend)
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