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2 unusual facts about Boathouse Row


Boathouse Row

Each of the boathouses has its own history, and all have addresses on both Boathouse Row and Kelly Drive (named after famous Philadelphia oarsman John B. Kelly, Jr.).

In 1979, lights designed by architectural lighting designer Ray Grenald were installed to outline each of the boathouses, giving them a nightly Christmas-like gingerbread house appearance and reflecting in the Schuylkill River.


John Strotbeck, Jr.

Philadelphia is a haven for rowers as the city offered access to world-class coaches, rowing equipment, and the Schuylkill River, which houses one of the largest regattas in the country and historic Boathouse Row.

Max Schmitt in a Single Scull

The course was 3 miles long: beginning near Turtle Rock (Turtle Rock Light is the lighthouse at the northwest end of Boathouse Row), proceeding upriver under the Girard Avenue and Pennsylvania Railroad Connecting Bridges to a stake near the Columbia Railroad Bridge, making a 180-degree turn around the stake, and then heading downriver back to the starting line.


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