In 1877, rowing students raised $1,100 to build a boathouse on the Potomac for their rowing team but a flood would wash it away just a few years later. Still, they didn’t realize that this was the start of what would be a long-standing tradition of rowing in Georgetown that continues today. For the next several years, rowing teams would work out of ice houses and floating boathouses (though heavy storms would often cause them to sink)
It wasn’t until 1961 that the men’s rowing team finally received official university recognition and funding. Several years later in 1978, the women’s team received recognition and funding as well.
According to the official Georgetown University website, “In the decades since, both teams have stored shells in Thompson Boat Center, which also rents space to George Washington University’s crew and other college and high school teams.”
Now, as of June 10th, Georgetown University alongside the National Park Service and District of Colombia, will work to keep the tradition of rowing going by building a boathouse.
“This collaborative effort, which has been underway for decades, will create a special space for the Georgetown rowing community and will usher in a new era for public access to the Georgetown waterfront,” Robert M. Groves, interim president of Georgetown, said in a press release.
The waterfront has been in the works for a while now to make it more accessible, and the boathouse project is an extension of that intent. The boathouse will be built at the base of Key Bridge, serving as a hub for not only the men and women’s rowing team, but also the community! The Georgetown community will have access to rowing programs and can use the deck year-round for canoeing, kayaking, and paddle boarding.