California Boathouse

Located along the Hudson River, in front of what is now Marist College and Longview Park.

This boathouse was built for the University of California, Berkeley in 1932 on property belonging to the City of Poughkeepsie.  It was part of a boathouse building program led by the local Poughkeepsie Regatta Association and was the second to be built along the river there.  When the boathouse was initially built, it was meant to serve only as equipment storage while the crews would lodge away from the riverfront.  In 1936, the Poughkeepsie Regatta Association added a kitchen and other necessary facilties so that the boathouse could lodge the crews in addition to their equipment.

After the Regatta's departure from the Hudson River, the boathouse was used by local high school crews.  In May 1957, the MIT/Washington boathouse to the south burned down and the California boathouse was severely damaged.  The City of Poughkeepsie repaired the boathouse and high school crews would continue to use it.  In 1976, when Marist College began tending to the boathouses, the California boathouse had deteriorated so much over time, it neccessitated its demolition.