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One of my favorite things about Albany used to be the existence of a rooftop hotel pool, level with an I-787 on/off ramp. It's gone now, for unfathomable reasons.
I dropped a pin below so you can all see just how much this hotel is surrounded by highway.
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I dropped a pin below so you can all see just how much this hotel is surrounded by highway.
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Anyway, today I learned from @HoxsieAlbany that the pool existed before the highway. You can see it in the background of this 1970 photo of the excavation of Fort Orange. That building to the left, on the roof of what I assume was the lobby. 2/
Photo: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/about/press/kits/fort-orange
Photo: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/about/press/kits/fort-orange
I was shocked to learn that the rooftop pool was not built specifically to allow swimmers to observe the highway while submerged.
And then I wondered if I could find any pictures of it before it was destroyed. Because otherwise, WHO WOULD BELIEVE THIS?
And then I wondered if I could find any pictures of it before it was destroyed. Because otherwise, WHO WOULD BELIEVE THIS?
So I did some Google Earth digging. The pool's visible in April 2004. It's that blue and white thing in the bottom right corner. 3/
Something is in that same spot in November 2006, although the photo's blurry. It's the same shape, so I'm gonna call it a pool. 4/
Tragically, by May 2007, that whole section of the building appears to be under construction. A new chain took over the building and put the main entrance right under the former pool site. They were maybe weirded out by the thought of cars driving right next to the pool.
Sadly, Street View only goes back to 2009. NOT FAR ENOUGH. So instead, I'll share the current street view from the onramp. As you can see, THEY ARE THE SAME HEIGHT. The pool was behind that tan concrete ... arch? facade?
I saw someone in the rooftop pool one (and only one) time. It was nearly as great as the time our largest warehouse was on fire for days.
We may never know why we lost that pool. Was it a structural engineering issue? Was an outdoor pool in NY "underutilized"? Was it a mindless bureaucrat's soulless decision?
Whatever the reason, we as a city are poorer for it.
Whatever the reason, we as a city are poorer for it.
