Photo circa 1910's of Class of 1887 Boathouse - Seeley G. Mudd Library Archives
Please do not copy without express permission
In celebration of its 25th reunion, the Class of 1887, who were freshmen when rowing was suspended at Princeton, gave the University the grand boathouse that has served Princeton rowing for more than 85 years. The June 12, 1912, Princeton Alumni Weekly reported the gift of the Class of 1887. The originally planned location for the boathouse would have been on Margaret Carnegie Island, which lies in Lake Carnegie between the Washington Road and Harrison Street bridges.
The Class of [18]87 distinguished its 25th year reunion by presenting to the University a new boathouse, to be erected on Margaret Carnegie Island, which lies in Lake Carnegie between the Washington Road and Harrison Street bridges. The house is to be approximately 140 feet long by 60 feet wide, of concrete and tile construction, two stories high, and connected with the mainland by a concrete bridge. On the lower floor there will be space for thirty-two eight-oared shells and a number of smaller boats. The upper story will be for training rooms, with hot and cold showers, 200 lockers, lounging room, etc. There will also be an upper balcony on the south, with accommodations for 100 persons. There will be a room for the launch on the lower floor, and another for skaters, which will be of much benefit to the hockey team and to others who skate. Provision is to be made for heating the upper story in the winter. The tentative plans drawn by the architect, Mr. Grosvenor Atterbury of New York, call for a house to cost about $40,000, which is to be given entirely by the Class of '87. The foundations will be started in the near future, under direction of the committee, composed of Charles S. Bryan [18]87, Chairman, and the class officers, Adrian H. Larkin, President, and W. J. Duane, Secretary. The first gift to the equipment of the boathouse is that of a new shell, presented by Warden McLean '12 of Philadelphia, of this year's second crew.That fall, the October 30, 1912, Princeton Alumni Weekly reported that revised plans for the boathouse had been drawn.This timely and generous gift by the Class of '87 will contribute much to the reestablishment of rowing at Princeton, which has already won a well recognized place as an intercollegiate sport and a healthy recreation for a large number of our undergraduates. Organized rowing at Princeton is very properly kept under the supervision of the faculty, whose Committee on Outdoor Sports last year appointed Dr. J. Duncan Spaeth of the English Department the Director of Rowing. On the nomination of Dr. Spaeth, the same committee has appointed a Graduate Advisory Committee on Rowing, consisting of Charles S. Bryan [18]87, Chairman; William Allen Butler, Jr., [18]76 and Arthur L. Wheeler [18]96. This committee is authorized to appoint two additional members, with the approval of the Faculty Committee on Outdoor Sports. The Faculty Committee has empowered the Graduate Advisory Committee on Rowing…
The subjoined architect's drawing shows the new boathouse presented by the Class of [18]87, the plans for which have been drawn by Pennington Satterthwaite [18]93. The fund for the house has now been completed, and the work of construction is to be started in the near future. Instead of the site formerly chosen, that on the island in Lake Carnegie below the Washington Road bridge, the boat house is to be built on the meadow between the Washington Road and Pennsylvania Railroad bridges, about sixty or seventy feet back from the water edge. The design is intended to harmonize with the college buildings. The building is to be of terracotta block stucco, with reinforced concrete floors and a slate roof. On the ground floor there will be six aisles with accommodations for thirty-two eight-oared shells and sixteen four-oared shells; also a repair shop. On the second floor there will be a very handsome club room, 73 x 38 feet, with a fireplace, and this big room will open on a balcony, 38 x 19 feet. There will be a kitchenette connecting with the club room. The plans also include two large locker rooms with showers, lavatories, etc. The tower will have a room for the directors and an ante-room.The January 22, 1913, Princeton Alumni Weekly reported that construction of the boathouse had begun in its present location.
Ground has been broken for the new boathouse presented by the Class of [18]87 and it is hoped that the house may be in partial use by the middle of May. The site finally decided upon, on the meadow bordering Lake Carnegie, between Washington Road and the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks, is much nearer the central campus than the location at first selected--on the island below the Washington Road bridge. This is a wise change, as it will bring the center of boating into closer touch with the campus, and fairly contiguous to the other athletic equipment now being developed on the lower campus. An attractive road is to be laid out through Potter's woods to the boathouse.[Continue...]
[1913 Photo - Constuction of Docks]
[Seeley G. Mudd Library Archives]
Please do not copy without express permission
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Related Articles: [Butler Papers] [PAW: 04/30/1913] [PAW: 05/14/1913] [PAW: 05/28/1913]
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