stephanieNY

The Mirabella Pool in the North End used to be a beach. How cool, right?! The public pool sits right on the water amidst the neighborhood's ball fields and looks out over the Charlestown Navy Yard across the harbor. Although not the height of luxury with its concrete floor and big greasy crowds, the pool is an amazing and cheap ($15 for the whole summer!) amenity to have right across the street from you in the city.

The entire site, including the area of the ball fields, was a huge public beach in the early 1900s. This tiny picture was all I could find online. I also read that the Boston Floating Hospital sat in the harbor right off the North End beach on a boat starting in 1894. Daily trips out to sea was thought to be therapeutic for patients. Now I see why we call it Boston Floating Hospital.

Here's my grandma and me checking out the pool last summer:

And me chillin poolside last week:

I don't spend too much time in the water when I'm at the pool due to the big greasy crowds, but I think bathing in the water at a beach in Boston Harbor might be even less appealing. I'm sure it was much cleaner a hundred years ago.