College boathouse remodeled
The completion of the renovations at the Lindamood-Van Voorhis Boathouse are leaving rowers from Marietta College striving to win even more than before.
“I think the remodel has boosted our morale,” said Chrissy Billingsley, 20, a sophomore rower for Marietta College. “If the alumni worked this hard to bring us the update we needed then we are going to work even harder for them.”
The renovation project for the boathouse has been on the table since 2009. Finally, on Oct. 14, the boathouse was rededicated in honor of completion of the newly remodeled site on Gilman Avenue.
“We held an event there last weekend and the new remodel was well received by everyone,” said Philip Schmehl, head coach for Marietta College’s men’s rowing.
New upgrades were put into two different phases. Phase one was completed in the summer of 2015, and phase two was finished this past summer. Phase one consisted of solidifying the original foundation, changing the bay doors from old garage doors to composite wood-like doors and putting in new lighting in and out of the boathouse. Phase two focused on the interior of the building, mainly the second floor.
“We demoed the second floor, moving the women’s locker room from the first floor to the second,” said Schmehl. “The training space is bigger now and the locker rooms are nicer.”
The second floor was also insulated and air conditioned to ensure a comfortable practice area for athletes.
“It really looks great,” said William Hooper, 19, a freshman rower for Marietta College.
The major change done in phase two was the roof, covering the entire balcony where before the roof only covered about two-thirds of the balcony. Phoenix Associates Inc. was the general contractor for this project and went with the original style of the 1929 gambrel-style original roof.
“Our renovation project at the boathouse is the perfect example of how our alumni and friends recognized an important need at Marietta College and stepped up to the challenge and helped us exceed our nearly $1 million goal,” said Bill Ruud, president of Marietta College. “We are already fielding inquiries about its use for a variety of events. With such a great location along the (Muskingum) river, we anticipate the interest in using the new boathouse will only increase as more and more people get to see it first-hand.”
The total cost of the project was a little more than $900,000 according to Schmehl.
“Money was raised by the alumni members of Marietta College,” he said.
The athletes agree that the new boathouse has earned its title as the Lindamood-Van Voorhis Boathouse.
“It used to be harder to come here and put in the extra work we needed to but now I’d live here if I could,” said Cameron Johnson, 21, a senior rower for Marietta College.
His teammate, Sam Johnson, 20, a junior rower, joked that this the building is way better than the dungeon they practiced in before.
A new sliding rack system was put into the bays of the boathouse, the second floor was raised and all locker rooms and coaches’ offices were painted and modernized.
“The remodel has been a positive experience for everybody and I think it adds to the city overall,” said Schmehl.
Even alumni from Marietta High School Tiger Navy are impressed with the renovations.
“The old one wasn’t awful but you could tell it was definitely time to fix things,” said Taylor Thieman, 20, a Tiger Navy alumni. “The new one just made it feel real that the change was needed and now it’s perfect. They did a great job.”
At a glance
¯Who: Marietta College’s Lindamood-Van Voorhis Boathouse.
¯What: Renovations done to the interior and exterior of the building.
¯When: From 2009 to completion the week of Oct. 10.
¯Cost: More than $900,000 raised by alumni of Marietta College.
Source: Philip Schmehl, head coach to Marietta College’s Men’s Rowing.