February is for feelings: a playlist

“To understand how heart-shaped bathtubs went from kitsch to cringe and ended up in a parking lot, look at the evolution of romance in the United States.”

—Josh Ocampo

I had just put the proverbial bow on this Valentine’s playlist, naming it “Heart-Shaped” after an Angel Olsen song within, when a friend texted me this NYT article eulogizing the heart-shaped bathtub. The timing! If you, like me, are a sucker for kitsch and nostalgia, it’s worth a read. Comments section included.

Writer Josh Ocampo chronicles the “sweetheart” tub from its proliferation during the honeymoon resort boom of the 1960s–80s in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, to its eventual mass appearance on Facebook Marketplace in the same region. I was glad to see Ocampo interviewed Margaret and Corey Bienert, whose Instagram account @aprettycoolhoteltour has played a huge part in promoting what’s remained of adults-only resorts like Cove Haven in recent years. I was doubly glad to hear the Bienerts, who went so far as to renew their vows at Cove Haven in 2021, were able to buy a couple of the tubs.

Working in hospitality, I think about hotels a lot: what’s in them, and what people want out of them. Last week, I rewatched the 2010 film Blue Valentine, which happens to be shot near the Poconos. Ryan Gosling’s character books a night for himself and his wife (played by Michelle Williams) at a theme motel, in an attempt to re-ignite their spark. There’s no heart-shaped tub, but the bed spins.

(This song is on the playlist, as it should be on every Valentine’s playlist)

On a recent episode of my favorite podcast, Mary Beth Barone described Blue Valentine as a “Rohrschach test” in that whether or not call it a sad story reflects your current relationship with love. I think the same can be said about the sweetheart tub. For something once so in-demand it got a two-page spread in Life Magazine, an unceremonious appearance on Facebook Marketplace seems a sorry fate. But it’s also an opportunity to be fallen in love with again. The Bienerts, for one, plan to install their newly-acquired tub in a Michigan home that they’ll “rent out to vacationers as a romantic getaway.”

Isn’t that what Valentine’s is all about? Hearts being shaped, broken, and taken up anew.

Happy listening!

Jayne Mansfield photographed by Allan Grant for LIFE Magazine (1960)