List of Charles River boathouses

The Charles River in Massachusetts has a significant number of boathouses on its banks, from its mouth at Boston Harbor to its source at Echo Lake in Hopkinton.

The boathouses are mostly situated along the Boston and Cambridge banks of the Charles River Basin, upstream as far as the Arsenal Street Bridge, and downstream as far as the Charles River Dam. Many of the boathouses belong to universities, including Boston University, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Northeastern University. Other boathouses belong to private clubs, some of which date back to the 19th century, while others belong to non-profit organizations dedicated to making the river accessible to the public for various types of boating. There are a modest number of for-profit boathouses that offer public boating services on the river above the Watertown Dam. Charles River Canoe & Kayak, which operates a boathouse in Newton, also provides rental services at other locations on the river.

The biggest event of the year involving the boathouses is the Head of the Charles Regatta, held every October. The houses see usage nearly year-round, weather permitting and pending the icing over of the Charles in winter months.

Listings

This list starts from the mouth of the river, with the first house near the Charles River Dam Bridge, and continues upstream. The nearest crossing to each boathouse is marked with an asterisk (*).

Boathouse name	Location	Owner	Downstream crossing	Upstream crossing	Built	Notes
DCR boathouse	1 Edwin H. Land Blvd., Cambridge 42°22′06″N 71°04′24″W / 42.36839°N 71.073348°W	Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation	*Charles River Dam Bridge	Longfellow Bridge	c. 1910	Located to the north of the Museum of Science parking garage at the mouth the Lechmere Canal, this boathouse dates to the period of the first dam's construction.
Charlesgate Yacht Club	20 Cambridge Parkway, Cambridge	Charlesgate Yacht Club	*Charles River Dam Bridge	Longfellow Bridge		This club has small structures on its docks, and no land-based facilities.
Community Boating Boathouse	21 David Mugar Way, Boston MA[1] 42°21′35″N 71°04′23″W / 42.359836°N 71.073015°W	Community Boating, Inc	*Longfellow Bridge	Harvard Bridge	1941	Community Boating is a non-profit operation providing sailing lessons and access to small sailboats.
Union Boat Club Clubhouse	144 Chestnut Street, Boston MA[2] 42°21′28″N 71°04′24″W / 42.357815°N 71.073374°W	Union Boat Club[3]	*Longfellow Bridge	Harvard Bridge	1851? (founding of the club)	The Union Boat Club is the longest continuously operating rowing club in Boston.
MIT Sailing Pavilion	Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	Longfellow Bridge	*Harvard Bridge	1935	The first facility constructed for college sailing[4]
Charles River Yacht Club	Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA	Charles River Yacht Club	Longfellow Bridge	*Harvard Bridge
H.W. Pierce Boathouse	409 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)[5]	*Harvard Bridge	Boston University Bridge	September 9, 1966[6]	Also called the "MIT Boathouse".
DeWolfe Boathouse	619 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA	Boston University[7]	Harvard Bridge	*Boston University Bridge	1999[7]	Commonly referred to as the "BU Boathouse".
Riverside Boat Club[8]	796 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA	Riverside Boat Club	Boston University Bridge	*River Street Bridge	1912	The Riverside Boat Club was founded in 1869. Those wishing to join must go through a five step application process before becoming a provisional member. Used by Northeastern University from 1963 to 1990.[9]
BU Sailing Pavilion	Storrow Drive, Boston MA	Harvard Bridge	*Boston University Bridge	River Street Bridge		Boathouse for the Boston University sailing squad
Weld Boathouse	971 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA	Harvard University[10]	John W. Weeks Bridge	*Anderson Memorial Bridge	1889 main section built in 1906.[11]	Commonly referred to as the "Radcliffe Boathouse". Home of Harvard's women's rowing team.
Newell Boathouse	65 Soldiers Field Road, Boston (Allston), MA	Harvard University[12][13]	*Anderson Memorial Bridge	Eliot Bridge	1900	Home of the men's rowing team and the Harvard University Boat Club
Cambridge Boatclub	2 Gerry's Landing, Cambridge MA	Cambridge Boat Club (CBC)	Anderson Memorial Bridge	*Eliot Bridge	1909? (founding of the club)	A 325-member private rowing and social club involved in a variety of outreach projects.
BB&N Boathouse	Cambridge MA	Buckingham Browne & Nichols	Anderson Memorial Bridge	*Eliot Bridge		Immediately adjacent to the Cambridge Boatclub.
Belmont Hill and Winsor Boathouse	5 Greenough Blvd, Cambridge MA	The Belmont Hill and Winsor Schools	*Eliot Bridge	Arsenal Street Bridge	2002	Eight time New England Youth 4+ Champions (2003–2010)
Henderson Boathouse	1350 Soldiers Field Road, Boston (Brighton) MA	Northeastern University[14]	Eliot Bridge	*Arsenal Street Bridge[15] 42°21′51″N 71°8′29.7″W / 42.36417°N 71.141583°W	1989[16]	Cost $2.5 Million.[16]
The Harry Parker Boathouse	20 Nonantum Road, Boston (Brighton) MA 42°21′31″N 71°9′56″W / 42.35861°N 71.16556°W	Community Rowing, Inc. (CRI)[17][18]	*North Beacon Street Bridge	Watertown Bridge[18]	2008[17]	30,000 sq ft. building, cost $11.45 Million. It's a public boathouse. CRI offers private lessons at the boathouse.[17][18] It will be used by Boston College.[16]
Newton Boathouse	2401 Commonwealth Avenue (Route 30), Newton MA 42°20.683′N 71°15.582′W / 42.344717°N 71.259700°W[19]	Boston Outdoor Recreation	Gold Star Mothers Bridge (Prospect Street, Waltham)	*Commonwealth Avenue (Rt. 30)[19]		Does rentals, sales, and instructional programs.
Charles River Canoe & Kayak	Nahanton Street, Newton MA 42°17′50″N 71°12′27″W / 42.29731°N 71.207421°W[19]	Charles River Canoe and Kayak	*Nahanton Street Bridge	Needham Street Bridge		Does rentals, sales, and instructional programs.

References

1. "Community Boating, Inc. - Boston, MA | Sailing for All Since 1946". community-boating.org. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
2. http://www.unionboatclub.org/directions.html
3. http://www.unionboatclub.org/about.html
4. "MIT Sailing: History". sailing.mit.edu. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
5. "MIT Campus Map". whereis.mit.edu. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
6. "Harold W. Pierce Boathouse". MIT Athletics. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
7. "GoTerriers.com | The Official Site of Boston University Athletics". goterriers.cstv.com. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
8. http://www.riversideboatclub.com/rbcguide.htm
9. http://www.riversideboatclub.com/the.htm
10. "Untitled Document". fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
11. "The Welds of Harvard Yard". harvardmagazine.com. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
12. http://www.gocrimson.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9000&ATCLID=522991&SPID=3652&SPSID=54259
13. Newell Boathouse at Harvard University
14. http://www.gonu.com/facilities/henderson.html
15. "Boston.com Events: Upcoming Things to Do". calendar.boston.com. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
16. "Community Rowing Boathouse - archBOSTON.org". archboston.org. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
17. http://www.gocrimson.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9000&ATCLID=1580207
18. "Home » Community Rowing, Inc.". communityrowing.org. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
19. "Map & Directions :: Paddling Store :: Charles River Canoe & Kayak". paddleboston.com. Retrieved 2016-07-26.

External links

• Sparks Consulting College Rowing Database