Fairmount Rowing Association is an amateur

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

club, founded in 1877. The facility, located at #2 Boathouse Row in the historic Boathouse Row of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Fairmount originally catered to blue-collar youths living in the Fairmount neighborhood. In 1916, after decades of being rejected, the club was finally allowed to join the

Schuylkill Navy The Schuylkill Navy is an association of amateur rowing (sport), rowing clubs of Philadelphia. Founded in 1858, it is the oldest amateur athletic governing body in the United States. The member clubs are all on the Schuylkill River where it flows ...

. The Club boasts being known as the "premiere club for Masters rowing in the mid-Atlantic region" and has produced several world class rowers.

History of the boathouse

The structure currently known as #2

Boathouse Row Boathouse Row is a historic site which is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the east bank of the Schuylkill River just north of the Fairmount Water Works and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It consists of a row of fifteen boathouses housi ...

is a result of a 1945 expansion project that eliminated #3 Boathouse Row by merging it into Fairmount Rowing Association's building at #2 Boathouse Row.

Pacific Barge Club

Pacific Barge Club was founded in 1859, but was not a member of the Schuylkill Navy. In 1860, Pacific Barge Club built a stone cottage-style boathouse at the site of #2 Boathouse row. Half of the building was occupied by the Pacific Barge Club while the other half was rented to the Philadelphia Boat Club. In 1881, the Fairmount Rowing Association purchased #2 Boathouse Row and Pacific Barge Club's equipment. In 1904, Fairmount Rowing demolished the stone building built by Pacific Barge Club. Walter Smedley, a founder of the T-Square Club, designed the

Georgian Revival Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover, George I, George II, Ge ...

style

Flemish bond Flemish bond is a pattern of brickwork that is a common feature in Georgian architecture. The pattern features bricks laid lengthwise (''stretchers'') alternating with bricks laid with their shorter ends exposed (''headers'') within the same cou ...

brick structure that replaced the 1860 stone boathouse and now occupies the southern half of the Fairmount Rowing's boathouse. Smedley, specialized in colonial revival residences, and also designed the Northern National Bank and the West Philadelphia Title and Trust Company.

Camilla Boat Club and Quaker City Barge Club

Camilla Boat Club was a founding member of the

. Camilla was a champion of the Schuylkill, but the Club disband as a result of disagreements between members. In 1858, the remnants of the defunct Camilla Boat Club reorganized to form Quaker City Barge Club. By 1866, Quaker City Barge Club had purchased #3 Boathouse Row from the Pacific Barge Club. Among various rowing accomplishment, Quaker City raced the first four oared boat with

coxswain The coxswain ( or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the wiktionary:cockboat, cockboat, a ...

. The Quaker City Barge Club began to decline in the 1880s and never raced in the Schuylkill Navy Regatta after 1926. In 1932, the Quaker City Barge Club declared itself “inactive” in the Schuylkill Navy and became completely defunct in the 1940s. In 1945, under the leadership of John Carlin, Fairmount Rowing Association bought Quaker City Barge Club's equipment and absorbed its boathouse, which now serves as the northern half of Fairmount Rowing's boathouse. File:Fairmount72.png, Fairmount Rowing Association,
#2

References

External links

*
Fairmount Rowing Association
on wikimapia.org {{Schuylkill Navy Rowing clubs in Philadelphia Boathouse Row Schuylkill Navy Sports clubs and teams established in 1877 1877 establishments in Pennsylvania Philadelphia Register of Historic Places Boathouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Historic district contributing properties in Pennsylvania

History of the boathouse

Pacific Barge Club

Camilla Boat Club and Quaker City Barge Club

References

Further reading

External links