Gaffey Street Pool Book

Located in San Pedro, California on the grounds of Angels Gate Park, (formerly the Upper Reservation of the Fort Mac Arthur military base), the Gaffey Street Pool overlooks the industrial landscape of the Port of Los Angeles. The pool was originally constructed by the military in 1943 with proceeds from the Hey Rookie stage show, which was was intended to increase the morale of the troops. In fact, the correct name of the pool is the Hey Rookie Pool. In 1975 the military transferred the land to the City of Los Angeles and the pool opened to the public. Between 1975 and 1997 generations of San Pedro families learned how to swim in the pool. Due to lack of funds for major repairs the pool was forced to close in 1997. Over the years nature took over, the vegetation grew and the pool and surrounding spectator cement benches became a giant canvas for the graffiti community. By 2014 the pool and surrounding walls were covered in paint and pattern, one giant painting created by hundreds of artists. With a 7 million dollar grant from the Port of Los Angeles in 2015 renovation began on the pool and on June 27, 2017 the pool opened once again as a swimming facility for the community.

The Gaffey Street Pool Book covers the history of the pool site from the start of it’s original construction to the renovation in 2016. It was created with hundreds of photographs from a movie project (which is still in the works) about the history of the pool. In contrast to the colorful imagery of the recent pool history stand archival newspaper clippings dating back to the 1940s.

Artist: Tim Maxeiner
Publisher: Spätzlehaus
Year: 2015
Pages: 48
Dimensions: 16x9 inch
Cover: Hardcover
Binding: Ringbound
Process: Ink Jet Print
Color: Full Color
Specials: multiple foldouts & transparencies
Edition Size: 1