The wintry darkness has passed and my skateboard adventures in Brooklyn are underway. I didn’t have to skate too far to find what is arguably the most fascinating structure in Greenpoint- a 1903 erected public bath. I initially had a jejune response to its interior- a windowless workshop- but after chatting with the proprietor, Luis, I was absorb by the entire scene.
The number of public bathhouses in Brooklyn once crested at five. They were reportedly a solution to a public health need in overcrowded cities. I’m not a fan of public bathing facitilies, but I deifnitely love limestone colums. The baths were all closed by 1960 and auctioned off. Luis bought the Huron Street bath twenty years ago and uses it as a workshop for his picture frames while renting the upstairs to two artists. When I left him a note in the mailbox slit of his door asking to tour the structure, I imagined it would be teeming with flowers and fountains. I was amused to walk into his office, surrounded by 22 carat gold picture frames, walls of wooden blocks, and a miasma of dust.
We happily conversed in a desultory fashion about art appreciation, immigration, Colombian food, Guyana, health, money, and rent. The wintry darkness has passed.
