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]
 Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club, # 14 Boathouse Row | |
| Location | #14 Boathouse Row, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Home water | Schuylkill River |
| Established | 1938 |
| Navy admission | 1967[1] |
Key people | Sophie Socha (President) |
| Colors | Royal Blue and White |
| Affiliations | Agnes Irwin School |
| Website | philadelphiagirlsrowingclub.com |
Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club | |
  | |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Built | 1860 |
| Part of | Boathouse Row (ID87000821[2]) |
| Added to NRHP | February 27, 1987 |
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
editIn 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
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Photo gallery
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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.
See also
edit
Further reading
edit- Stillner, Anna (2005). The Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club: An Incremental Historic Structure Report (Thesis). Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- "National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form". NPS Focus, National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, US Department of the Interior. November 27, 1983. p. 666. Retrieved May 7, 2010.[permanent dead link]
- Lewis, John Frederick (1895). Skating and the Philadelphia Skating Club. Philadelphia. pp. 32–52.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Sweeney, Joe. "The History of the Penn Athletic Club Rowing Association: Part 2 - Beginning of the Clubs". Schuylkill Navy. Archived from the original on June 20, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- "Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club on Boathouse Row". About.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
- "Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club". Facebook. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
- PGRC on wikimapia.org
References
edit- ^ 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.
External links
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