The Penn boathouse, the Quakers crew team's home along the Schuylkill River, has as much a sense of history as its neighbor to the south, the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Built in 1876, the red and blue trimmed house is the only collegiate boathouse out of 14 along Boathouse Row. Over time, the boathouse has evolved to fit the needs of the University's expanding rowing program, but it is saturated with Penn rowing history and tradition.
"It's a great functional boathouse," Penn Director of Rowing and heavyweight coach Stan Bergman said. "It's old but unique and has lots of history."
Virtually all wall space -- around the main entrance, along stairways, throughout locker rooms and surrounding weight rooms -- is filled with Penn rowing artifacts: trophies, plaques, pictures, names and even racing shirts of past teams.
"No matter what the athletes are doing, they're seeing the history of the program," Penn lightweight coach Mike Irwin said. "It's around them all the time."
Senior women's crew captain Megan Keane is one of the rowers who feels the influence of this history on the walls around her in the boathouse.
"It reminds you constantly how many people have been there before you," Keane said. "It's inspirational."
Even the boats used for racing commemorate important members or seasons of Penn's rowing program.
"The boats are named for donors or people who have done a lot for the program, such as coaches," Bergman said.
The varsity heavyweights compete in "Sprint '96," a boat which recognizes a year when the Quakers won the Eastern Sprints. The varsity lightweights currently compete with a boat named for the crews of 1950 and 1951, years when Penn recorded undefeated seasons and won national championships.
"Athletes like to see evidence of a strong tradition," Bergman said. "These are reminders that you become part of that tradition."
Keane believes that she and her teammates are driven by these constant reminders.
"It is motivational to know that you're part of something that so many people have been through before," Keane said.
Over the years, Penn's boathouse has adapted to fit the needs of the growing rowing program.
In 1967, women's rowing became a club sport, and in 1975 it was promoted to the varsity level. Because of this, a women's bay was added to the house.
According to Bergman, who has coached at Penn for over 20 years, the Penn boathouse is unique among collegiate boathouses simply because it is "on Boathouse Row in Philadelphia, which is world famous among rowers. Being on the Schuylkill is most important for us."
Aside from the history and tradition of the Penn boathouse, Keane believes that the building's location at one of the centers of the rowing world is one of its biggest assets.
"We have lots of interaction with other boathouses and many different people," Keane said.
"You can't help but be drawn to the boathouses," Irwin said. "Postcard shots define the fabric of the city. Boathouse Row is absolutely one of [those shots] for Philadelphia."
Bergman was a little bit more jovial in his commentary on the 129-year-old building.
"The boathouse is kind of like me: it's old but nice."
