The fate of Keith Haring’s poolside mural at the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center in New York’s West Village remains uncertain, as debates rage on over what to do with the dilapidated facility. Haring famously painted the 170-foot long artwork—which features dolphins, swimmers, and a mermaid cavorting through swaths of yellow and blue—in a single, steamy summer day during 1987. Famed producer Junior Vasquez DJ’d a pool party all the while. Today, the site ranks amongst the coolest artist-designed swimming holes in the world, as well as the best public artworks in the city. It even appeared in Harmony Korine’s zeitgeist 1995 film Kids.

Concerns about the building—and by association, the Haring pool mural—reignited earlier this summer, when the Parks Department announced that the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center, including what was formerly known as the Carmine Street Pool, would remain closed for yet another year, marking the fifth consecutive season that area residents have had to slog a mile and a half across town to cool down.

 

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The Tony Dapolito Recreation Center first opened in 1908. When it initially closed for renovations in 2020, inspectors discovered that the damage was significantly worse than they thought. The Center’s indoor pool leaks, and portions of its construction are so structurally unsound that those areas are now constantly monitored in case of collapse. The projected budget to rehabilitate the space quickly grew from $4 million to $20 million. According to Curbed, The Parks Department has set aside $100 million for the project, but a spokesperson for the agency pointed out that restoring the Center, rather than re-building it from scratch, would still “result in a loss of recreational programming space,” since size of its pool, gym, and basketball courts all fall short of today’s standards.

Demolition has since entered the chat. The notion was floated at a community board meeting last month, where officials also proposed relocating the Center to an affordable housing project planned nearby, at 388 Hudson Street. The Preservation League of New York State and nostalgic native New Yorkers alike are pushing back. Fortunately, at least, officials have said that even in the event of demolition, they’d try to hold onto the pool, and Haring’s mural, which the Keith Haring Foundation has helped fund and preserve for the past 30 years.

“We understand the mural is beloved to the community and a critical piece of Keith Haring’s legacy,” the Parks Department offered in a statement shared with Artnet News. “We are in discussion with the Keith Haring Foundation about the mural’s restoration needs and exploring potential options.” The Foundation has not responded to a request for comment on what they want done with the work. In the meantime, July’s board meeting passed a resolution to create a new center at 388 Hudson—without deciding further on the demolition.

Some understandably jaded area residents, however, are offering their predictions. “I’m sure they’ll keep the Haring,” one local board member told Curbed. “It’ll be a great asset to whatever luxury condo goes there.”