Cunneen, Patrick

Historical or Biographical Note

The South End Rowing Club is one of the oldest rowing clubs on the Pacific Coast still in existence. It was established in San Francisco in 1873, and its boathouse has been in various locations in Aquatic Park since late 1908. It has been in its current location at Hyde and Jefferson Streets since 1937. The club members participate in both professional and amateur rowing, as well as swimming, running, and handball competitions. They also participate in many social activities, including their annual St. Patrick's Day celebration.

The South End Boat Club was founded on May 5, 1873 in San Francisco. The first officers were: Peter McAvoy (president); James Bolan (vice-president); H. Comfort (secretary) and James Roe (treasurer). Some of the first members were Dave Morris, Charles West, Richard Landers, Charles Brown, and [Tom] McNamara (Pickelhaupt 1995, 14).

The first boathouse of the South End Boat Club was located at the foot of Third Street and Berry Street, in an area of the city called Steamboat Point. This location likely got its name because in the late 1850s, decommissioned and broken-down steamboats that had been shipped from the East Coast in pieces were reassembled near the foot of Third Street (1). Steamboat Point was near the Long Bridge, which ran along the line of Fourth Street from Channel Street on the north to the Potrero [Potrero Point] and on to Hunters Point (2). Construction of the bridge started on February 9, 1865. There were many boathouses on or near the bridge, and regattas were held there regularly.

On April 7, 1874, the South End Boat Club and Friendship Rowing Club decided to combine forces and adopted the name of the Neptune Boat Club, and took over the South End's boathouse (16-17). In November 1878, the Neptune Boat Club changed its name to the Golden Gate Rowing Club. This was to avoid confusion with the Neptune Swimming and Boating Club in North Beach (which was established July 14, 1877) (20).

In July 1881, the South End Boat Club was reestablished. The Golden Gate Rowing Club moved out of the building at the foot of Third Street and the new members of the South End Boat Club moved in (25). On February 26, 1882, the South End Boat Club participated in their first race after this re-establishment; a race against the Golden Gate Rowing Club (28). In September of 1885, construction started on a new boathouse for the South End Boat Club (still near the location at the end of Third Street). The architect was Adolph C. Lutgens and the contractors were E & F. J. Owens. (In 1895 Lutgens was hired to construct the Dolphin Club's new building.) The new South End boathouse was finished on November 1, 1885. The first floor was used for boat storage and dances, and the second floor was used as an assembly room, dressing room, and bath (38).

In the early 1890s the club's official colors became red and white (46). Towards the end of 1891, the South End Boat Club changed its name to the South End Rowing Club (SERC). By 1892, there were 100 members of the South End Rowing Club and they built an indoor gymnasium in the boathouse (47). In 1897, the South End board approved the construction of a handball court, which was completed in October 1899 (52).

From mid-1900 to 1901, there was discussion between the city of San Francisco and the South End Rowing Club about moving the club's boathouse. The Southern Pacific Railroad wanted to buy the block where the boathouse was located, in order to put in tracks and a warehouse. In December 1901, it was decided that the South End Rowing Club had to move, but they were able to get an 18 month stay in effect on January 1, 1902. "A letter from the San Francisco Board of Public Works in March 1902, ordered the boathouse and handball court [to be] removed by July 1, 1903." The court was removed in May 1903 and in June, and construction started on a boathouse in a new location. The new boathouse was located at the foot of 16th Street near the Arctic Oil Wharf and was designed by Frank Van Trees. In early summer of 1904, the South End Rowing Club moved into its new boathouse (67-69).

After only being in their new location for about three years, in August 1907, the Harbor Commission ordered the South End Rowing Club to move because they wanted to extend the seawall through Central Basin, Islais Creek and India Basin. In late 1908, the South End Rowing Club boathouse was moved on a barge owned by Henry Petersen. The building was towed to the foot of Van Ness Avenue, on the west side of Black Point Cove (this Cove became known as Aquatic Park in the late 1920s-1930s) (70-72). In 1919, the club built a handball court at their location in Black Point Cove. It was so popular that a second one was built a few years later, likely in 1922 (74).

In 1913, The Panama Pacific International Exposition Company built an elevated railroad trestle across the cove and in 1914 built a tunnel through Black Point to reach the exposition grounds in the area known today as the Marina. This elevated trestle went across the ends of the rowing club's docks and was not a welcome addition. In the early 1920s, the railroad trestle was moved further inland, even closer to the Ariel Rowing Club, Dolphin Rowing Club, and South End Rowing Club. The trestle was still elevated over their docks but was much closer to the boathouses.

In July or August 1927, the SERC boathouse was moved from the foot of Van Ness Avenue to the foot of Larkin Street. On December 7, 1937, the club, along with the Dolphin Rowing Club and Ariel Rowing Club, was moved to its current location at the corner of Hyde Street and Jefferson Street (87, 89).

Beginning in the 1930s-1940s, swimming became more popular at the SERC club. Members started participating in annual events such as the Golden Gate Swim, the New Year's Morning Swim, and the Alcatraz Swim. There have also been many other events that have taken place in Aquatic Park and swimming still continues to be a popular activity at the South End Rowing Club.

In 1975, Joan Brown, Lee Bender, Trudy DiLorenzo, Diane Major, Cecile Marie, and Marilyn Rodman sued the South End and the Dolphin clubs for discrimination, because they wanted to be allowed to become members. In 1977 they won the lawsuit, and women were finally allowed to become members of both clubs. After their victory, all six women went on to become life-long members of the South End Rowing Club or the Dolphin Club (De Dijn, 11).

Note: This list was gleaned from annotations on photographs and sources used to write the SERC history.

Sources: Aquatic Park: San Francisco Maritime National Park. National Park Service Cultural Landscapes Inventory 2001. http://www.nps.gov/safr/parkmgmt/upload/AqParkCulturalLandscapeInventory.pdf, accessed February 17, 2012.

Delgado, James P. A Dream of Seven Decades: San Francisco's Aquatic Park. Reprinted from "California History" 64:4 The Magazine of the California Historical Society Fall 1985.

De Dijn, Annelien. South End: A Boys' Club No More. The South Ender (Fall 2009): p. 11.

Inkersley, Arthur. Rowing on San Francisco Bay. "Outing" 35:6, March 1900, p. 575-584. http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/Outing/Volume_35/outXXXV06/outXXXV06e.pdf, accessed March 13, 2012.

Pickelhaupt, Bill. 1995. Club rowing on San Francisco Bay 1839-1939: Featuring the South End Rowing Club. Printed in the United States.

Pickelhaupt, Bill. 2005. San Francisco's Aquatic Park. San Francisco: Arcadia Publishing.

Note: Pickelhaupt gives conflicting information about the Friendship Rowing Club. On page 10 of "Club Rowing on San Francisco Bay," he says that "The Friendship Rowing Club appears to have been formed by the consolidation of the California Boat Club and the Oakleaf Rowing Club." But later in the book, on page 16, he says that "The South End and Friendship clubs decided to combine forces, emerging as the Neptune Boat Club in April 1874" and on page 17 he says "The Neptune Boat Club, successor to the South End Boat Club and Friendship Rowing Club, was founded April 7, 1874." In his 2005 publication "San Francisco's Aquatic Park," Pickelhaupt also makes reference to the fact that the Friendship and South End clubs merged as Neptune.

Pickelhaupt also says that the South End Rowing Club was reestablished in July 1881. This conflicts with other information in the Inkersley article that says the club was reorganized in August 1880. The 1880 date seems more plausible because this collection contains several photographs of the front of the boathouse that has a sign that says "Est. 1880."