Pennsylvania Barge Club is an amateur rowing

Rowing (sport)

Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

 club, situated along the historic Boathouse Row

Boathouse Row

-Early 19th century beginnings:The history of Boathouse Row begins with the construction of the Fairmount Dam and the adjacent Water Works. The Dam was built in 1810 as part of a lock at the Falls of the Schuylkill to bring coal downriver. The Dam submerged rapids and transformed the Schuylkill...

 of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. It was founded in 1861 and joined the Schuylkill Navy

Schuylkill Navy

The Schuylkill Navy is an association of amateur rowing clubs of Philadelphia. Founded in 1858, it is the oldest amateur athletic governing body in the United States...

 in 1865. The Club's boathouse, at #4 Boathouse Row, is also known as the Hollenback House, named for William M. Hollenback, Jr., who served as President of USRowing

USRowing

USRowing is the national governing body for the sport of rowing in the United States. It serves to promote the sport on all levels of competition, including the selection and training of those who represent the US at international level....

 from 1979 until 1985.

Painter Thomas Eakins

Thomas Eakins

Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator...

 was most likely a longtime member of Pennsylvania Barge Club. His friend, Max Schmitt, rowed for the club, and won the single sculls championship 6 times.

In Schuylkill Navy races, Pennsylvania Barge had 359 entries and 106 victories. Its teams represented the United States in the 1920 (four-with-cox), 1924 (four-with), 1928 (four-with and four-without), and 1932 (pair-with) Olympic Games.

As a result of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the club suffered a drastic reduction in membership. In 1955, the Club turned its boathouse over to the Schuylkill Navy

Schuylkill Navy

The Schuylkill Navy is an association of amateur rowing clubs of Philadelphia. Founded in 1858, it is the oldest amateur athletic governing body in the United States...

. Thereafter, the Pennsylvania Barge Club served as an administrative center for rowing, including serving as Headquarters for the National Association of Amateur Oarsmen, which later became USRowing

USRowing

USRowing is the national governing body for the sport of rowing in the United States. It serves to promote the sport on all levels of competition, including the selection and training of those who represent the US at international level....

. The building also housed the Schuylkill Navy

Schuylkill Navy

The Schuylkill Navy is an association of amateur rowing clubs of Philadelphia. Founded in 1858, it is the oldest amateur athletic governing body in the United States...

, the United States rowing Society (formerly Schuylkill Navy Association), Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association, the Middle States Regatta Association, and the Dad Vail Rowing Association.

In 2009, the Club was reactivated and reinstated as a member of the Schuylkill Navy.

History of the Boathouse

In 1868, the Club received permission from the Fairmount Park

Fairmount Park

Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...

 Commission to build a replacement for its brick house. Between 1869 and 1871, the Club erected a boathouse with Crescent Boat Club

Crescent Boat Club

Crescent Boat Club is an American amateur rowing club located at #5 Boathouse Row in the historic Boathouse Row of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1867 when Pickwick Barge Club and Iona Barge Club merged. Crescent Boat Club joined the Schuylkill Navy in 1868...

.
In 1892, Pennsylvania Barge Club replaced their half of the double boathouse. Architect, Luis Hickman, designed Pennsylvania Barge Club's boathouse in the picturesque Victorian style.
Hickman was a member of the T-Square Club and known for his renovation of Merchants' Exchange Building

Merchants' Exchange Building (Philadelphia)

Built between 1832 and 1834, the Merchants' Exchange Building, is located on the triangular site bounded by Dock Street, Third Street, and Walnut Street. This monumental office building, designed by architect William Strickland, operated as a brokerage house in the nineteenth century...

. In 1912, the Club hired C.E. Schermerhorn to add second floor of timber and stucco.

External links

• Pennsylvania Barge Club on wikimapia.org