OPENED in the summer of 1936, the hottest on record in the United States, the McCarren pool, on the Greenpoint-Williamsburg border in Brooklyn, was one of 11 unveiled across the five boroughs that sweltering season, a statement in concrete of the city’s ability to do something big in the depths of the Great Depression.

Link to Article: 
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/05/27/nyregion/mccarren-pool-is-reborn.html?ref=nyregion
Article Source: 
New York Times