Philadelphia’s Boathouse Row
The rowing clubs on Philadelphia’s Boathouse Row comprise “the oldest athletic amateur governing body” in the U.S., said Dave Caldwell in The New York Times. The first clubs were built along the tree-lined Schuykill River in the early 1800s. After the Civil War, rowing enthusiasts built “handsome Victorian-era boathouses, trimmed in club colors.” Today these houses are colorful enough by day, but at night are outlined in lights and twinkle like “a gingerbread fairyland.” On racing days, the air is full of suspense. The mile-and-a-quarter-long racing course is six lanes wide “and edged by short gray stone walls.” Admission is free, and thousands of spectators can watch from either bank. There is also plenty to do when the boats aren’t racing. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is a short walk away, as is the Fairmount Water Works, which includes “a museum about, yes, water.”
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