Boat House Row, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Sunset at Sedgeley - View from the Schuylkill - Photo by George Barth
"The Light at Turtle Rock"
On the shores of the Schuylkill River, just beyond the towering skyline of Philadelphia, lies the Sedgeley Club.
Adorning Philadelphia's famous Boathouse Row with the city's only operating lighthouse, Sedgeley Club provides a unique and stately setting for meetings,
special events, and social functions.
The only women's boating club in Fairmount Park
(and quite possibly the oldest one in the country), our story begins in 1887
with the building of a lighthouse at "Turtle Rock" -- a location known for an unusual rock formation resembling a giant tortoise shell. Completed in the summer of 1887,
the "Light at Turtle Rock" provided security and safety to the
city's thriving maritime activity and steamboat trade.
In 1897, a small ladies group was compelled to develop a sports facility, or at the very minimum, a safe place to rest or retreat from inclement weather when bicycling along, and canoeing on, the Schuylkill River. They rented the boathouse next to the lighthouse, originally calling themselves The Bicycle, Barge & Canoe Club.
These active women soon longed for a place of their own and launched a
city-wide campaign for permission to erect a building around the lighthouse. It was an arduous process, but on May 9, 1902, the Fairmount Park Commission finally granted them the land on which to build a clubhouse with a costly stipulation that the Club prove they had the funds available to complete the project and absorb the cost of moving the utility building that had served the lighthouse. The Philadelphia Press named the laying of the Sedgeley Club cornerstone on December 26, 1902, a "...unique and historical ceremony in which only women participated." At a total cost of $11,531.00,
Sedgeley Club opened its doors one year later, eventually having as many as 337 Philadelphia women in membership enjoying bicycling,
canoeing and socializing. Bikes could be stored overnight, and tea with crackers was a
fashionable refreshment at the affordable price of 15 cents.
The Sedgeley boathouse was designed by Arthur H. Brockie, with the able assistance of Sedgeley Club's founder, Margaret Longstreth Corlies. It was the last one of its era built on Boathouse Row and it remains an active club today.
Boathouse Row was placed on the U.S. National Registry of Historic Places in 1987, and the several of the boathouses are rented to discriminating groups who wish to celebrate a by-gone era when Fairmount Park
served as a summer retreat for wealthy landowners.
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Sedgeley Club may be rented for private functions and is
suitable for groups up to 65.
The sun porch is the perfect setting for a board meeting for small conference style meeting of twelve people, and the larger living room offers a wide variety of seating configurations.
Business meetings can be enhanced with front screen projection.
The club is air conditioned for year-round comfort.
Please see links (upper left column) for photographs and
detailed rental information.
Copyright 2010-2013 - All rights reserved - Deborah J. Firth
On the One the shores On the shores of the Schuylkill River, just beyond the towering skyline of Philadelphia, lies The Sedgeley Club . Adorning Philadelphia's famous Boathouse Row with the city's only operating lighthouse, The Sedgeley Club provides a unique, and stately setting for meetings, special events, and social functions.
The only womens' boating club in Fairmount Park, the history of the clubhouse building began in the year 1887 with the Fairmount Park Commission granting approval for the building of a lighthouse at "Turtle Rock" - a location known for an unusual rock formation resembling a giant tortoise shell. Completed in the summer of 1887, the "Light at Turtle Rock" provided security and safety to the city's thriving maritime activity and steamboat trade. In 1903, members of a small ladies club were granted permission to erect a building around the small lighthouse. Later that same year, The Sedgeley Club opened its doors. The membership in the early days was comprised of Philadelphia ladies who enjoyed bicycling and canoeing on the Schuylkill River. Sedgeley was the last boathouse of its era built on Boathouse Row and remains an exclusive Philadelphia club for ladies to this day. Though the canoeing and bicycling have been replle of social events and fundraising efforts to maintain the treasured Light on Turtle Rock, the club remains a cornerstone of Fairmount Park and Boathouse Row, and is a nostalgic reminder of a by-gone era when fairmount Park served as a summer retreat for wealthy landowners.
The Sedgeley Club may be rented for private functions and is suitable for a reception up to 80 people, or a sit-down dinner of sixty-five people. The sun porch is the perfect setting for a board meeting or small conference-style meeting of twelve people, and the larger living room accommodates up to forty people for a business meeting with front screen projection.
The club is fully heated and air conditioned for year-round comfort!
On the shores of the Schuylkill River, just beyond the towering skyline of Philadelphia, lies The Sedgeley Club . Adorning Philadelphia's famous Boathouse Row with the city's only operating lighthouse, The Sedgeley Club provides a unique, and stately setting for meetings, special events, and social functions.
The only womens' boating club in Fairmount Park, the history of the clubhouse building began in the year 1887 with the Fairmount Park Commission granting approval for the building of a lighthouse at "Turtle Rock" - a location known for an unusual rock formation resembling a giant tortoise shell. Completed in the summer of 1887, the "Light at Turtle Rock" provided security and safety to the city's thriving maritime activity and steamboat trade. In 1903, members of a small ladies club were granted permission to erect a building around the small lighthouse. Later that same year, The Sedgeley Club opened its doors. The membership in the early days was comprised of Philadelphia ladies who enjoyed bicycling and canoeing on the Schuylkill River. Sedgeley was the last boathouse of its era built on Boathouse Row and remains an exclusive Philadelphia club for ladies to this day. Though the canoeing and bicycling have been replaced over the years by an active schedule of social events and fundraising efforts to maintain the treasured Light on Turtle Rock, the club remains a cornerstone of Fairmount Park and Boathouse Row, and is a nostalgic reminder of a by-gone era when fairmount Park served as a summer retreat for wealthy landowners.
The Sedgeley Club may be rented for private functions and is suitable for a reception up to 80 people, or a sit-down dinner of sixty-five people. The sun porch is the perfect setting for a board meeting or small conference-style meeting of twelve people, and the larger living room accommodates up to forty people for a business meeting with front screen projection.
The club is fully heated and air conditioned for year-round comfort!
