Detroit Boat Club - Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mi.
Posted by: 
Team--B
N 42° 20.408 W 082° 59.623
17T E 335764 N 4689466
Loacated on Riverbank Way at Picnic Way on Belle Isle Park.
Waymark Code: WM93GY
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 06/22/2010
Views: 11
The Detroit Boat Club, established in 1839, is the oldest sport rowing club in the United States. It is also the oldest continuous rowing club in the world. It was first created on the Detroit River during a time in which Detroit, Michigan was just starting to grow.
E. A. Brush, Alpheus S. Williams, S.H. Sibley, Alfred Brush, J.H. Farnsworth, James A. Armstrong and John Chester were among the founding members, prominent men in Detroit's society. The first building that housed the club was at Hasting street, in an old clubhouse with one boat, the "Georgiana".
In 1840 the Detroit Boat Club bought a second boat, the E.A. Brush, and began to hold two mile (3 km) races from Hog Island (Belle Isle) and the clubhouse. It was around this time that the famous University Boat Race between Cambridge vs. Oxford races began on the River Thames in England.
In 1848 the clubhouse burned, destroying all boats except the "Wolverine". The club was then moved to a carpentry shop, and it continued to grow.
By 1873 the club was ensconced in plush quarters at the foot of Joseph Campau, the easternmost end of Detroit, and had become the center of all water sports. A half-dozen new clubs formed nearby, and most displayed their sailing and rowing trophies at Bidigaire's saloon up Joseph Campau. The Biddle House on East Jefferson and the Russell House, also attracted a thirsty boating set.
When its Joseph Campau lease expired in 1889 the City of Detroit invited the DBC to move to Belle Isle. The Detroit Yacht Club, which had been on the landward side of the Belle Isle Bridge, also went over to the island at that time when informed that the city needed their old site for its new bridge approach.
A new clubhouse was built on Belle Isle in 1891, but was burned in 1893. Another boathouse lasted until 1901 when it also burned. In an attempt to save the structure, club member and fire commissioner Fred Moran ordered all available firefighting apparatus to the scene. Horses thundered over the old wooden bridge, dragging heavy engines and trucks behind them. The fire tug James Battle became grounded in the shallow water and remained stuck fast until the following noon. Fire equipment failed to get close enough to the burning building due to mud and the distance of the old clubhouse from the shore. Helpless, they stood and watched it burn. The next morning, club members vowed once again to rebuild their clubhouse.
On August 4, 1902, the current boathouse (the first concrete structure in the US) was dedicated.
Detroit continued to grow. Horse-drawn trolleys were being replaced by electric streetcars, planked sidewalks were paved and gas lamps were replaced by electric lights. On the river, sleek racing sculls became standard equipment, and canoeing became popular. The Detroit Boat Club became even a greater force in the social and sporting fabric of Detroit.
In 1956 the Detroit Boat Club put seven members on the U.S. Olympic team coached by Walter Hoover and brought home two silver medals. Rowers Jimmy Gardiner and Pat Costello placed second to the Russians in double sculls while Art and John McKinlay, John Welchi and Jim McIntosh, were runner-up to Canada in the four without coxswain event.
While rowing remained the cornerstone of the club's activities, other forms of boating became popular. Sailing arrived in 1899 and the DBC regatta is the oldest sailing race in Michigan.
Few know that member commodore Dr. Charles Godwin Jennings and his 65-foot (20 m) schooner, Agawa, won the first Mackinac Race held in 1904.
The old Belle Isle Bridge, which burned in April 1915, had a swing section which opened at midnight, preventing anyone on the island from reaching the mainline until the next morning. To be trapped on the island was tantamount to disgrace and social ostracism. All club dances ended promptly at 11:30. Long after the present bridge opened in 1923, dances at the Boat Club and Detroit Yacht Club continued to end at 11:30. In 1992 rent on the Detroit Boat Club property jumped from $1 to $100,000. Utility payments fell behind and membership continued to drop. The club filed for bankruptcy citing a $1million debt. The city announced plans to take over operation of the building. In 1996, the boat club members voted to move out of the city.
Since the social club left Belle Isle in 1996, the historic building has fallen into disrepair. Current assessments put the needed repairs over $20 million.
During Mayor Archer’s administration a developer proposed remodeling the building and making it into a very upscale marina. Nothing came of that plan.
About four years later, the Detroit Rowing Club was organized. They began using the Detroit Boat Club building and have used it rather frequently in recent years for rowing events in both the winter and summer. Since about 2001, they have undertaken a modest project to refurbish the once very attractive building. The building is owned by the city and I do not know what formal arrangements the Detroit Rowing Club has with the city. If you look carefully at this beautiful building, you will see evidence of the improvements that have been accomplished recently, but also evidence of the remolding that is still needed if this building is to be returned to the glory of its state as designed by Detroiter Alpheus Chittenden.
Facility Rating: 
Address of Facility:
Riverbank Way at Picnic Way
Detroit, MI U.S.A.
Public/Private: Private?
Clear overhead clearance at ramp for mast: yes
Good trailer/rig parking: yes
Good dock alongside of ramp: yes
Overnight docking available: no
Good staging area for rigging boat: yes
Clubhouse facilities: yes
Racing committee at facility: yes
"On the hard" trailer/boat storage: yes
Website of Club: [Web Link]
Fees: Not Listed
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