Thompson
Boat Center History
Located
at the mouth of Rock Creek, at the historic Tidelock of the C&O
canal, the Thompson Boat Center is the only existing public boat
storage facility on the Georgetown waterfront. The facility was
the brain child of Department of the Interior worker Harry S. Thompson.
The
original name of the facility was The National Capital Water Sports
Center a decision made in 1952 just before opening, when Mr. Thompson
passed away. Until the flood of 1972, the Thompson Boat Center was
an active facility with boat storage, canoe and rowboat rental,
and the operation of the C&O canal barge. Its receding waters
left nearly a foot of mud and debris in the boathouse, washed away
the docks, and sank the canal barge. Between 1972 and 1981, Thompson
Boat Center activity dropped dramatically.
With the development of Washington Harbor an explosive growth of
rowing in the area, demand for the center services and capacity
has grown steadily. Thompson Boat Center currently houses the vessels
of four collegiate, thirteen scholastic, several club teams, hundreds
of individual scullers and paddlers, and offers boat and bicycle
rentals.
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