Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club

and White AffiliationsAgnes Irwin SchoolWebsitephiladelphiagirlsrowingclub.com

U.S. Historic district
Contributing property

Philadelphia Register of Historic Places

LocationPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaBuilt1860Part ofBoathouse Row (ID87000821^[2])Added to NRHPFebruary 27, 1987

Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club (commonly abbreviated PGRC) is an amateur rowing club located at #14 Boathouse Row in the historic Boathouse Row along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the oldest all-female rowing club in existence.^[3] Built in 1860, the club's boathouse is the oldest structure on Boathouse Row,^[1] which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark.^[4]

PGRC was founded in 1938 by seventeen women (mostly wives of oarsmen at other clubs) who wanted to participate in the then predominantly male sport of rowing.^[1]^[3]

History of the boathouse

In 1860, Philadelphia City Council authorized construction of the structure that is now #14 Boathouse Row for the purpose of housing the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society.^[5]

Architect, James C. Sidney, designed the building to provide for the Skating Club, but also included a basement facility to store boats for neighboring rowing clubs whose boat houses were scheduled to be removed by the city.^[6] Samuel Sloan, a well-known Philadelphia architect, likely influenced the design of #14 Boathouse Row with his rendering of "Italian Villa," Plate XXIV, in his book "Model Architect."^[7] The construction cost $4,900 and was completed in 1861.^[8]

The Undine and University Barge Clubs housed their boats at the Philadelphia Skating Club building until the city permitted them to build their own structures in 1882 and 1871, respectively.^[9] From 1884 through 1895, the second Iona Boat Club (now defunct) occupied the space in the building left vacant by Undine Barge Club.^[9]

With the advent of artificially frozen indoor skating rinks at the beginning of the 20th century, skating on the Schuylkill River declined precipitously.^[10] In 1965, PGRC purchased the boathouse from the Philadelphia Skating Club.^[11]

Occupant timeline

Photo gallery

Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club, #14 Boathouse Row in 1870.
Samuel Sloan's "Italian Villa" lithograph that influenced the design of #14 Boathouse Row.
Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club in 1972.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Stillner, p. 105
^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
^ ^a ^b "Thomas Eakins Head of the Schuylkill Regatta 2009 Program" (PDF). Thomas Eakins Head of the Schuylkill Regatta. 2009: 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2010. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ "Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State" (PDF). National Historic Landmarks Survey, National Park Service. p. 81. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 24, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
^ Stillner, p. 5
^ Stillner, pp. 21-22
^ Stillner, p. 24
^ Stillner, p. 22
^ ^a ^b Stillner, p. 28
^ Stillner, p. 29
^ "Boathouse Row". Living Places. Retrieved April 30, 2010.