533 Leonard Street, formerly Public School No. 59, taken on May 19, 1931.

Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration ARCHITECT: Louis Allmendiger DATE: 1916-1921 STYLE: Byzantine Monumental in scale and impressive in appearance, the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord is designed in the Byzantine style of Russia, with a strong Renaissance flavor. The onion-shaped domes, with which it is crowned, are particularly characteristic of that style. This striking example of derivative ecclesiastical architecture of the early twentieth century presents a dramatic and colorful picture.

607 Humboldt Street 1903–04 This Gothic Revival church, with a capacity of 1,250 worshippers, houses the largest Polish Catholic congregation in Brooklyn. In fact, the flanking stretches of Humboldt Street and Driggs Avenue were renamed Pope John Paul II Square and Lech Walesa Place, who each made visits to the parish. The church’s most marked feature is its spires that stand tall over the neighborhood. They are asymmetrical to one another, octagonal in shape and richly ornate.

No matter where you grew up, whether it was an instructor taking you through a course in a parking lot or a family member guiding you around the neighborhood, you probably experienced some sort of Drivers Ed. In 1953, the Automotive High School in Brooklyn had a new way to teach its students.

St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church, ca. 1900. In 1896, Fr. Leon Wysiecki of St. Casimir’s in Fort Greene purchased 10 contiguous lots in Greenpoint, where he built a new Polish-language church. The present Gothic Revival church was completed in 1904 and quickly became a center of North Brooklyn’s growing Polish community. St. Stanislaus continues to hold mass in Polish, seven days a week.

The future site of McCarren Park Pool, viewed from the corner of Bayard and Leonard Streets. September 10, 1935. In 1909, Greenpoint Park was renamed McCarren Park, after the 19th century New York State Assemblyman and Senator Patrick Henry McCarren. This photo shows the construction of the McCarren Park Pool, one of eleven public pools built during the LaGuardia Mayoral administration. The pool opened in the summer of 1936.

Automotive Vocational School for the City of New York, under construction, 1937. The school’s McCarren Park campus was completed that year. This view is from the corner of Bedford Avenue and North Twelfth Street.

This triangular lot at the northern edge of McCarren Park is named for Father Jerzy Popieluszko (1947-1984), a priest, martyr, and champion of the Polish Solidarity Movement. The square, though divided by Bedford Avenue, was originally part of McCarren Park. It was built in 1930 on land purchased by the city between 1903 and 1905 and named for Father Popieluszko in 1985. Jerzy Popieluszko was a Polish nationalist who spoke openly against the Soviet-controlled government in Poland from his small church, Saint Stanislav Kosta, in North Warsaw. His messages were amplified to the masses via Radio Free Europe where he encouraged "peaceful resistance to Communism," and utilized his position in the Catholic church to speak out openly during a time when the country was under martial law. Authorities arrested Popieluszko several times for opposing the communist regime. He later took part in the Solidarity Worker's strike in Warsaw on March 27, 1981, the largest strike in the Soviet Bloc. Reportedly, the priest crossed police lines to deliver communion to steelworkers on strike. Father Popieluszko couldn't speak so openly for very long. He was quickly considered one of the most dangerous enemies of the government. After dodging various assassination attempts, Popieluszko was kidnapped by Służba Bezpieczeństwa (Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs) in 1984 and murdered. The priest's death caused a massive uproar throughout the country. Solidarity leader and friend of Popieluszko Lech Walesa said: "The worst has happened. Someone wanted to kill and he killed not only a man, not a Pole, not only a priest. Someone wanted to kill the hope that it is possible to avoid violence in Polish political life." Over 25,000 people attended Popieluszko's funeral and, after public pressure, President General Wojciech Jaruzelski arrested those directly responsible for his killing. Monuments in Chicago, Illinois; Trenton, New Jersey; Hartford, Connecticut; Rome, Italy; Budapest, Hungary; and Beziers, France commemorate his legacy. Father Popieluszko Square was dedicated in 1985. The square features both a bust of Father Popieluszko and a sculpture of Bound Hands Rising, a symbol of Poland's struggle for freedom.

McCarren Play Center, September 22, 1941. McCarren Pool was the eighth of eleven WPA pools to open in the summer of 1936. The pool had a capacity of 6800 swimmers. The pool and adjacent building (seen here) was designed by Aymar Embury II, who was also involved in some capacity with the other 11 pools. The play center was rendered in the same simple Art Moderne style of most of the other WPA pool buildings, here with massive, high arched entryway and ticket booth. The McCarren Pool has a unique later history. While many of the other pools underwent renovations in the early 1980s, this pool closed in 1984. A planned renovation never came to be and the pool deteriorated for the next few decades. In 2005 a local choreographer was granted permission to create a site-specific dance piece at the pool. For the next few years the space was used as a popular music venue. In 2008 the venue was closed in preparation for the reactivation of the pool. The pool and play center reopened in 2012 after a $50 million restoration.