Our twentieth Story Hour focuses on historical preservation of American boathouses. Of all the American rowing boathouses developed before 1900, only about 18 still exist. The Clubs that are stewards of these buildings have already successfully financed and completed major preservation and renovation projects on these important buildings, beginning in the mid-20th century. This work continues today, and these early Clubs are in a state of continual preservation and renovation. In these Clubs, the idea of preservation is “baked in” to their culture and is a key part of their governance process to ensure that these buildings are maintained.

Of those boathouses built after 1900, many have already been demolished, but there are efforts underway to preserve many of these surviving treasures. These projects are always extremely challenging, due to, among other things, the structural complexity of the buildings and sites, the high levels of private and/or public funding required and managing the relationships of numerous private and public stakeholders. There have been some great success stories, but unfortunately some are facing a steep climb to obtain financing and regulatory approvals. The time span of these projects may range from a relatively brief 5-10 years, all the way up
to generations.

Our first guest speakers, historian Al Mackenzie and Nicole Klein, Project Manager of the ASUW Shell House Restoration, update us on the latest regarding the project to preserve the ASUW Shell House in Seattle. This is a “good news” story for those of us who are passionate about preserving rowing history. This is the building that has been imprinted in the minds of millions from the book and movie “The Boys in the Boat.”

Our second guest speaker is Stephen Malbouef, who is a regular member of our team. Stephen is an architectural associate specializing in historical preservation projects and has been fascinated with American boathouses since high school. His Masters in Architecture thesis covered historic boathouse preservation around the country. His focus recently has been working to preserve the Detroit Boat Club, one of the oldest and most important Clubs in the nation. He is a member of the team working on an “adaptive re-use proposal” which will be submitted to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for the preservation of the boathouse. This is a work in progress; unlike the ASUW Shell House project, Detroit BC is still in the process of cultivating local support and obtaining approval for proceeding with a preservation project. After hearing Stephen’s remarks and seeing the beautiful architectural images of the interior and exterior, you will appreciate what a tragedy it would be if this boathouse is lost.

The discussions were guided by our own team member, Chris Doyle, who has been deeply involved in the preservation projects of two boathouses during the past few decades.