L Street Brownies

The L Street Brownies are a polar bear club based in South Boston, Massachusetts. Organized in 1902, it is one of the oldest such clubs in the United States. Although the Brownies swim year round, they are best known for their annual New Year's Day plunge in Dorchester Bay.

Winter swimming in South Boston began in the 19th century, by some accounts as early as 1865. The practice was likely introduced by European immigrants, who believed that cold water plunges followed by saunas or steam baths were good for one's health. Swimmers who came regularly to the L Street Bathhouse in South Boston usually swam nude or with minimal clothing, and became known as the "Brownies" because of the deep tans they acquired from daily exposure to the sun. The Brownies claimed that swimming and tanning were beneficial to the heart, skin, and circulation, and credited the practice with miraculous cures. The belief that winter swimming strengthens the immune system has persisted into the 21st century.

The club was officially organized in 1902, and began accepting women members in 1915. Although the club itself is older than the Coney Island Polar Bear Club, which was founded in 1903, its first documented New Year's Day swim did not take place until 1904, when a photographer took a picture of the event. For this reason, the title of "oldest polar bear club in the United States" is generally given to the Coney Island club.

The New Year's Day swim became an annual tradition that continues to this day. Each year hundreds of people join the L Street Brownies in their New Year's Day swim, accompanied by spectators and reporters. Traditionally, the most dedicated Brownies swam every day of the year, rain or shine. The daily ritual was so important to them that in 1913, according to the Boston Globe, it was "not unusual at L St, after an extremely cold night", when the bay was covered with ice, "to see a naked bather plodding through the snow armed with a hatchet or ax for the purpose of cutting out a space large enough for a dip." One such member, Richard Pinkson, had reportedly been an L Street Brownie for 64 years when he died in 1955.

Over the years, regular participation in year-round swimming gradually declined. In 2013, a group of young people called the L Street Ice Swimmers revived the tradition, and in 2015 their group was officially incorporated. Calling themselves "the next generation of the L Street Brownies", members swim several times a week throughout the year. Their motto is "We'll be here 'til L freezes over."

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