Minneapolis Rowing Club Boathouse

The boathouse as seen from the Lake Street Bridge.

Photo by Eric Hart © 2007

Site submitted by: Eric Hart

Location

River Mile 850.20 — Right Descending Bank

Significance

Paddling
Boating

Description

The Minneapolis Rowing Club traces it roots back to the 1870s on Lake Calhoun but it was eventually forced to find new waters, moving to the Mississippi just north of the Lake Street bridge in 1965. The distinctive A-frame Duncan-Miller Boathouse was completed that year but it tragically burned in 1997, destroying nearly everything the Club owned. Despite the overwhelming loss, the club came together to raise the necessary funds to complete a new boathouse, which opened for official use during the 2002 rowing season. The boathouse’s distinctive parabolic roof, intended to mimic the motion of an oar pulling through water, as well as the distinctive wood ribbing in the interior, garnered a Progressive Architecture Award from Architectural Record magazine for Vincent James Architects. Power boaters on the river must be courteous of the rowers and canoers and be mindful of the effects of their wakes on these small craft. The boathouse is best viewed from the north sidewalk of the Lake Street bridge (MRC Handbook, p. 5).

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The Mississippi River Field Guide is provided by Friends of the Mississippi River.
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