SOUTH BOSTON — Despite warmer temperatures, the crowd was small for the annual New Year’s Day plunge in South Boston. The ongoing construction at the L Street Bathhouse, the traditional location of the L Street Brownies annual polar plunge, has meant that those taking the plunge have no place to warm up or dry off.

The Curley Community Center in South Boston, the formal name of what most people call the L Street Bathhouse, closed in March 2020 when Covid-19 forced all city facilities to shut down. By 2021, the bathhouse was gutted and the work continues. No word on what will happen with the annual plunge but it seems like some people will always take part.

All photos by Bill Brett