Columbia Crews Used to Row in Low

The crew practices in Low Library in 1952.

COURTESY COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

Before the 1929 Boathouse opened in 2001 on the confluence of the Harlem and Hudson Rivers, rowing in Low Library’s basement was a rite of passage for decades of crews. While University administrators worked in the offices above, the teams sloshed their oars through two feet of water, contained in giant tanks flanking a narrow line of 10 seats.

The tanks solved a cold-weather problem: The Ivy League didn’t allow crews to practice on the river when temps dropped too low, generally November to February. The winter tank setup was originally on the grass tennis courts in front of Furnald Hall, but the spillover ruined the courts’ surface and the tanks had a habit of freezing over. Teams began practicing in Low’s basement starting in 1935, when a ventilation system was removed and the tank apparatus found a new home.

But rowing in the basement wasn’t much more pleasant than rowing in freezing temperatures. It was humid and dingy from steampipe leaks, and the ceiling was so low that hitting one’s head was a real possibility. It also turned out the lack of ventilation, which had paved the way for the tanks’ relocation, provided the perfect warm, damp environment for algae to grow. Spectator reported in 1990 that “at least the water of the algae-infested crew tanks looks like the Harlem River.”

The teams used the tanks until at least the 1990s; 21st-century crews now stay warm on ergometers in the Boathouse.