Crescent Boat Club is a Philadelphia rowing club at #5 Boathouse Row, 5 Kelly Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19130. Founded in 1867 and a member of the Schuylkill Navy of Philadelphia, we occupy a Victorian boathouse on the east bank of the Schuylkill River. We work with location scouts, production managers, photographers, journalists, and historians, and we have hosted film, television, and commercial shoots on the property.

Planning a wedding, party, or meeting? See Event Space Rentals. Visiting rather than shooting? See Visiting Boathouse Row.

On this page: The Boathouse and the River · How Productions Use the Property · Access, Timing, and Permits · Photography, Editorial, and Research · Make an Inquiry

The Boathouse and the River

Boathouse Row is a National Historic Landmark: fifteen nineteenth-century clubhouses strung along Kelly Drive, outlined in lights after dark, with the Fairmount Water Works and the Center City skyline downriver. Crescent has occupied #5 since 1868. The building went up in stages, and the layers are still visible.

  • Exterior and tower – Stone and gabled roofline in late Victorian dress, revised in 1891 by Philadelphia architect Charles Balderston over the 1871 building by Davis Supplee, a Crescent member. The street-side tower dates to the earlier expansion.
  • Boat bays – Racked eights, fours, and singles under cast steel spans, with ramps running down to the dock. A working space, not a set dressed to look like one.
  • Reception room and bar – Period interior on the second floor, air conditioned, holding up to 140 people.
  • Deck and dock – An outdoor deck over the water, plus dock and ramp access for on-river work.
  • Sightlines – Kelly Drive and the river path, the Schuylkill and its bridges, the Water Works, Lemon Hill, and the skyline. Club history has archival images of the building across the last 150 years.

How Productions Use the Property

The 140-person figure describes the club room. It is not the limit of what the property can support. Productions have used Crescent as their whole footprint and as one piece of a larger one, and both work.

  • The full site – Interiors, exteriors, deck, dock, and river frontage, with the club room serving as holding, wardrobe, or production office.
  • Camera and talent only – Trailers, trucks, and basecamp staged nearby along the drive or in the park, with the boathouse kept clear for the shoot itself. This is a common arrangement here and keeps the footprint on the Row small.
  • Support space – Craft services, catering, warming, or crew shelter at the club while the camera works elsewhere on the Row or the river path.
  • Added capacity – Tenting, portable restrooms, generators, and similar equipment can be brought in or sited nearby, subject to park permitting and our approval. Tell us what you need and we will tell you what is workable.

Access, Timing, and Permits

  • The club is active – Rowing runs early mornings and evenings, and our junior and novice programs use the bays and dock through the season. Midday and off-season weekdays are usually the easiest to schedule.
  • Regatta season – Spring and fall race weekends close Kelly Drive and fill the river. Check the Schuylkill River Schedule before locking dates.
  • Load-in and parking – Access is from Kelly Drive, and parking on the Row is limited. Larger vehicles are generally staged off the Row. Raise logistics early and we can walk through the options.
  • Permits – The boathouse sits within Fairmount Park, so filming, tenting, drones, or equipment on park land may require approval from Philadelphia Parks & Recreation or the city film office in addition to ours.
  • Insurance – Certificates of insurance are required, and a signed agreement covers use of the building, dock, and grounds.

Photography, Editorial, and Historical Research

Not every request is a production. Professional photographers shoot portrait, editorial, and architectural work here, and writers and historians ask about the building, the club, and the early years of Philadelphia rowing. We handle those the same way: tell us what you are working on and what you need, and we will find a time.

The boathouse is not open for drop-in tours or casual photography. Our club history is the best starting point for background, and the Schuylkill Navy of Philadelphia can help place Crescent in the wider story of the river.

Make an Inquiry

Email us to schedule a walk-through of the boathouse and the river. The more you can tell us up front, the faster we can give you a real answer.

  • Project – Feature, series, commercial, documentary, stills, editorial, or research.
  • Dates – Shoot days plus prep and strike, and how much flexibility you have.
  • Footprint – Crew size, and which parts of the boathouse, dock, and river you expect to use.
  • Equipment – Generators, lighting, drones, watercraft, tenting, or anything staged outside the building.
  • Support needs – Holding, catering, craft services, restrooms, or power.

Contact

Crescent Boat Club has rowed from #5 Boathouse Row since 1867 and has been a member club of the Schuylkill Navy of Philadelphia, the oldest amateur athletic governing body in the United States, since 1868. Club history · Visiting Boathouse Row · Event rentals