Weld Boathouse is a Harvard

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

-owned building on the bank of the Charles River

Charles River

The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...

 in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

. It is named after George Walker Weld

George Walker Weld

George Walker Weld , youngest son of William Fletcher Weld and member of the Weld Family of Boston, was a founding member of the Boston Athletic Association and the financier of the Weld Boathouse, a landmark on the Charles River.-Early life:Weld was athletic as a student at Harvard College and...

, who bequeathed the funds for its construction.

History

Weld boathouse is actually the second of two boathouses created on this spot by George Walker Weld. The first was built in 1889. The second, grander structure was built in 1906 with funds that Weld bequeathed for that purpose. It is this famous Cambridge landmark, perhaps best viewed from Boston looking across the Charles, whose centennial was celebrated in 2006.

Situated at the halfway point of the Head of the Charles course, the Weld Boathouse is just a short walk from Harvard Yard

Harvard Yard

Harvard Yard is a grassy area of about , adjacent to Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that constitutes the oldest part and the center of the campus of Harvard University...

 and serves as an integral part of Harvard's athletic landscape. It is also a favored subject of painters and photographers.

The structure serves as a base for Harvard's rowing, boating and crew teams. On occasion, it has been the home of more esoteric pursuits such as the hand-carving of a traditional baidarka

Baidarka

Baidarka is the Russian name used for Aleutian style sea kayak. The ancient Unangan name is Iqyax. The word has its origins from early Russian settlers in Alaska. Iqya-x builders who kept the tradition of building skin-on-skeleton boats alive in the 20th century include Sergie Sovoroff.A prominent...

 of the type used by Aleutian hunters.

Although previously used for Harvard men's freshmen team, Weld Boathouse is currently the home of both the heavyweight and lightweight squads of Radcliffe Women's Crew (representing Harvard University). Additionally, Weld Boathouse is home to the recreational sculling facilities provided by Harvard University, and in the spring houses the intramural "house crews."

1981 fire

In February 1981, spontaneous combustion of flammable materials stored in the woodshop of Weld Boathouse sparked a blaze a that shot flames 30 feet in the air and damaged windows and supplies stored in the ground-level room. A witness reported "It looked like the whole place was going to burn down."

An unidentified man ran into the boathouse shouting, "Fire! Fire! Get out of the building!", thus alerting six members of the women's heavyweight crew who were inside. No one was injured.

An asbestos door triggered by the fire alarm system closed and prevented flames from spreading into the adjacent room where about 100 boats were stored. Firefighters arrived within twenty minutes and quickly doused the flames. The Weld Boathouse, which is mostly brick, suffered little serious damage.

Anderson Memorial Bridge

Next to the boathouse is the Anderson Memorial Bridge

Anderson Memorial Bridge

Anderson Memorial Bridge connects Allston, a neighborhood of Boston, and Cambridge. The bridge stands on the site of the Great Bridge built in 1662, the first structure to span the Charles River...

 built in 1913 by Weld's niece Isabel Weld Perkins

Isabel Weld Perkins

Isabel Weld Perkins , mostly known as Isabel Anderson or Mrs. Larz Anderson after her marriage, was a Boston-area heiress and author who left a legacy to the public that includes a park and two museums. She is interred in the St...

 and her husband Larz Anderson

Larz Anderson

Larz Anderson III was a wealthy American businessman and diplomat who briefly served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan ....

. This bridge was designed with "a high enough arch to admit the passage of all sorts of pleasure craft." Both the Weld Boathouse and the Anderson Memorial Bridge were funded by heirs to the fortune of 19th century magnate William Fletcher Weld

William Fletcher Weld

William Fletcher Weld was a shipping magnate during the "Golden Age of Sail". He later invested in railroads and real estate. Weld multiplied his family's fortune into a huge legacy for his descendants and the public.-Early life:...

.