page_title: Betsy Head Park
section_title: Pool
hierarchical_section_title: Betsy Head Park / Recreation center / Current modernist design / Pool
caption_attribution_description: English: Title: Betsy Head Play Center, Hopkinson and Livonia Ave., Brooklyn, New York. Abstract/medium: Gottscho-Schleisner Collection (Library of Congress) Physical description: 1 negative&#160;:
context_page_description: Betsy Head Park is a 10.55-acre public park in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York City, located in two non-contiguous segments centered around Dumont Avenue and Thomas S. Boyland Street. The modern-day park contains a playground, recreation fields, a bathhouse, and a pool. The latter two comprise the Betsy Head Play Center, which was designated as a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The park is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also known as NYC Parks.
  The park opened in 1915 with a bathhouse and a pool complex. The current Art Moderne style pool was built by Aymar Embury II and John Matthews Hatton during a Works Progress Administration project in 1935–1936. The bathhouse was rebuilt following a 1937 fire. The park's facilities were renovated from 1979 to 1983 and again in the late 2010s.
context_section_description: The pool area is located west of the bathhouse and takes up much of the block between Livonia Avenue to the south and Dumont Avenue to the north. The main pool is rectangular shaped, measuring 330 by 165 feet (101 by 50 m), with the longer axis running north–south. A cement deck surrounds the pool and is encircled by a chain link fence. Two small islands are located in the center of the pool and contain triangular-capped filtration systems. Until the pool was renovated in the early 1980s, these islands contained fountains.
  The diving pool was located south of the main pool. It was infilled in 2005–2006 and now contains a volleyball court. A storage area used by NYC Parks is located on the east side of the pool area.
  Concrete bleachers, along with a filter house, are located on the southern side of the pool area adjacent to the volleyball court. The concrete bleachers were built with the original bathhouse in 1917 and are surrounded by a wall made of Flemish bond brick. The space underneath the bleachers contains five circular windows facing toward Livonia Avenue to the south. A two-story brick filter house is located to the west and contains a metal doorway and short flight of steps that leads to Livonia Avenue. The bleachers and filter house area are surrounded by a chain link fence.
caption: Overview of the pool from the roof
exif: {}