Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club

Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club
Established	1938
Navy admission	1967[1]
President	Sophie Socha
Location	#14 Boathouse Row, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Home water	Schuylkill River
Colors	Royal Blue      and White
Affiliated programs	Agnes Irwin School
Website	philadelphiagirlsrowingclub.com

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.^[2] 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.^[3] 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][2]

History of the boathouse

Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club, # 14 Boathouse Row

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.^[4]

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.^[5] 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."^[6] The construction cost $4,900 and was completed in 1861.^[7]

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.^[8] From 1884 through 1895, the second Iona Boat Club (now defunct) occupied the space in the building left vacant by Undine Barge Club.^[8]

With the advent of artificially frozen indoor skating rinks at the beginning of the 20th Century, skating on the Schuylkill River declined precipitously.^[9] In 1965, PGRC purchased the boathouse from the Philadelphia Skating Club.^[10]

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.

See also

Philadelphia portal

• Ernestine Bayer

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} Stillner, p. 105
2. ^ ^{a b} Thomas Eakins Head of the Schuylkill Regatta 2009 Program, Thomas Eakins Head of the Schuylkill Regatta, 2009, p. 19, http://www.hosr.org/2009HOSRPROGRAM.pdf, retrieved 30 April 2010 
3. ^ "Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State". National Historic Landmarks Survey, National Park Service. p. 81. http://www.nps.gov/nhl/designations/Lists/LIST07.pdf. Retrieved 6 May 2010. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ Stillner, p. 5
5. ^ Stillner, pp. 21-22
6. ^ Stillner, p. 24
7. ^ Stillner, p. 22
8. ^ ^{a b} Stillner, p. 28
9. ^ Stillner, p. 29
10. ^ "Boathouse Row". Living Places. http://www.livingplaces.com/PA/Philadelphia_County/Philadelphia_City/Boathouse_Row.html. Retrieved 30 April 2010. 

References

• Stillner, Anna (2005). The Philadelphia Girls’ Rowing Club: An Incremental Historic Structure Report (Thesis). http://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/41. Retrieved 30 April 2010. 

Further reading

• "National Registry of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form". NPS Focus, National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, US Department of the Interior. 27 November 1983. p. 666. http://image1.nps.gov:9001/StyleServer/calcrgn?cat=NHLS&item=Text/87000821.djvu&style=nps/FOCUS-DJview.xsl&wid=640&hei=480&oif=jpeg&props=item(SUMMARY,COPYRIGHT),cat(Name)&page=17. Retrieved 7 May 2010. 
• Lewis, John Frederick (1895). Skating and the Philadelphia Skating Club. Philadelphia. pp. 32–52. http://books.google.com/books?id=tbk6kjEaJS8C&pg=PA32. 
• Sweeney, Joe. "The History of the Penn Athletic Club Rowing Association: Part 2 - Beginning of the Clubs". Schuylkill Navy. http://www.boathouserow.org/pac/pachist2.html. Retrieved 30 April 2010. 

External links

• "Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club on Boathouse Row". About.com. http://philadelphia.about.com/library/gallery/blkelly_drive42.htm. Retrieved 6 May 2010. 
• "Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club". Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Philadelphia-Girls-Rowing-Club/188904560892. Retrieved 6 May 2010. 
• PGRC on wikimapia.org