Crescent Boat Club is an American 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 located at #5 Boathouse Row in the historic

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 ...

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 ...

. It was founded in 1867 when Pickwick Barge Club and Iona Barge Club merged. Crescent Boat Club joined 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 ...

in 1868. In 1871, Crescent competed in and won the doubles event in the first regatta of the

National Association of Amateur Oarsmen The National Association of Amateur Oarsmen, organized in 1872, was the first national governing body of the sport of rowing in the United States, and the first American sports organization to publish a definition of "amateur". Before the NAAO, r ...

, an event "which undoubtedly helped the sport greatly." Today, Crescent Boat Club continues to contribute to the rowing community and

. The club houses two rowing programs,

Roman Catholic High School The Roman Catholic High School of Philadelphia is a four-year private, catholic high school for boys in Philadelphia. It was founded by Thomas E. Cahill in 1890 as the first free Catholic high school in the nation. The school is located at the ...

and

Thomas Jefferson University Thomas Jefferson University is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. ...

during the scholastic seasons and its own novice, junior, and senior sculling programs as well as a private membership and social group. The club is available for rent to host events, meetings, parties, celebrations and gatherings.

The boathouse

Between 1869 and 1871, Crescent erected a boathouse with

Pennsylvania Barge Club Pennsylvania Barge Club is an amateur rowing club, situated along the historic Boathouse Row of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1861 and joined the Schuylkill Navy in 1865. The club's boathouse, at #4 Boathouse Row, is also known a ...

. Today, the club's boathouse exhibits the work of renowned Philadelphia architect Charles Balderston. From 1890 to 1891, Crescent made alterations and additions, designed by Balderston, to the 1871 building. The boathouse was initially two stories of stone, but Balderston's design added the upper stories of

half-timbered Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

brick and stucco, which cap the building today.

After World War II

As a result of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the club suffered a drastic reduction in membership. In 1951, Crescent turned the operation of its boathouse over to LaSalle Rowing Association. The club was known as LaSalle Rowing Association until 1960. By 1974, the boathouse was vacant. Under the leadership of John Wilkins, the house was later reoccupied by Crescent. In addition to hosting LaSalle's team, Crescent also hosted the St. Joseph's University women's team and the men's team from

. Crescent has the smallest membership of the clubs in the Schuylkill Navy.

Photo gallery

File:Balderston-Crescent.jpg, Balderston's sketch of Crescent after renovations File:South_from_River_Drive,_by_Cremer,_James,_1821-1893-crop-.png, 1871 structure c. 1873–74 before 1890 additions. File:Crescent72.png, Crescent Boat Club,
#5

in 1972. File:Crescent2010.jpg, Crescent Boat Club in 2010.

References

External links

Crescent Boat Club
on wikimapia.org {{Schuylkill Navy National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Philadelphia Buildings and structures completed in 1871 Victorian architecture in Pennsylvania Boathouse Row Schuylkill Navy Sports clubs and teams established in 1867 1867 establishments in Pennsylvania Philadelphia Register of Historic Places Historic district contributing properties in Pennsylvania Boathouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania

The boathouse

After World War II

Photo gallery

References

Further reading

External links