Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club (commonly abbreviated PGRC) 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 atta ...

club located at #14 Boathouse Row in the historic

Boathouse Row Boathouse Row is a historic site 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 15 boathouses housing social and ro ...

along the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It fl ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It is the oldest all-female rowing club in existence. Built in 1860, the club's boathouse is the oldest structure on

, which is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

and designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. 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.

History of the boathouse

In 1860, Philadelphia City Council authorized construction of the structure that is now #14

for the purpose of housing the

Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society The Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society is the oldest figure skating club in the United States. History The predecessor organization, called "The Skater's Club of the City and County of Philadelphia", was founded in 1849, and merged with ...

. 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. Samuel Sloan, a well-known Philadelphia architect, likely influenced the design of #14

with his rendering of "Italian Villa," Plate XXIV, in his book "Model Architect." The construction cost $4,900 and was completed in 1861. The

Undine Undines (; also ondines) are a category of elemental beings associated with water, stemming from the alchemical writings of Paracelsus. Later writers developed the undine into a water nymph in its own right, and it continues to live in modern li ...

and

University Barge Club University Barge Club of Philadelphia (also known as UBC) is an amateur rowing club located at #7 in the historic Boathouse Row of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Hist ...

s housed their boats at the Philadelphia Skating Club building until the city permitted them to build their own structures in 1882 and 1871, respectively.Stillner, p. 28 From 1884 through 1895, the second Iona Boat Club (now defunct) occupied the space in the building left vacant by

Undine Barge Club Undine Barge Club is an amateur rowing club located at #13 Boathouse Row in the historic Boathouse Row along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The club was founded in 1856. Undine was not initially listed as a founder of the S ...

. With the advent of artificially frozen indoor skating rinks at the beginning of the 20th century, skating on the

declined precipitously.Stillner, p. 29 In 1965, PGRC purchased the boathouse from the

Philadelphia Skating Club The Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society is the oldest figure skating club in the United States. History The predecessor organization, called "The Skater's Club of the City and County of Philadelphia", was founded in 1849, and merged with ...

Occupant timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:700 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1857 till:2010 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:30 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:m bar:1 color:POWDERBLUE from:1860 till:1871 text:

(1858-1871) bar:2 color:POWDERBLUE from:1860 till:1882 text:

(1858-1882) bar:3 color:POWDERBLUE from:1884 till:1895 text: Iona Boat Club (2nd) (1884-1895) bar:4 color:POWDERBLUE from:1897 till:1902 text:

Sedgeley Club The Lighthouse on Turtle Rock is a lighthouse built in 1887 to aid traffic on the Schuylkill River near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The lighthouse was constructed by Frank Thurwanger at a cost of $2,663 on an area of land just west of Boathouse Ro ...

(1897-1902) bar:5 color:POWDERBLUE from:1938 till:end text:Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club (1938-present) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:10 start:1860 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(175,30) # tabs:(0-center) text:"Occupants of Philadelphia Skating Club Boathouse"

Photo gallery

File:PSS1870.JPG, Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club, #14

in 1870. File:Sloan Italian Villa.JPG, Samuel Sloan's "Italian Villa" lithograph that influenced the design of #14

. File:Philadelphia Girls Rowing Club, 1972.png, Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club in 1972.

References

External links

* {{coord, 39.96935, -75.18537, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Philadelphia Cultural infrastructure completed in 1860 Italianate architecture in Pennsylvania Boathouse Row Schuylkill Navy Sports clubs established in 1938 1938 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

Occupant timeline

Photo gallery

See also

Further reading

References

External links