West Side Rowing Club 1975 – 1980

Part 1

On July 30, 1975 a multiple alarm fired ended West Side's 50-year occupancy of a City owned building on Bird Island Pier just South of Ferry Street. The cause of the fire was determined by the Buffalo Fire Department to be defective ballast in a fluorescent light fixture.

Despite the efforts of the Fire Boat Edward M. Cotter the contents of the building including all the boats, oars, and motorboats were destroyed. In accordance with City policy wooden buildings were not insured.

The fire occurred at the time of the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta where West Side had 9 boats and 27 oars. The remainder of the assets that survived the fire were one truck, a trailer and $14,000.00 in cash.

Within two months the West Side Board of Directors agreed to move to an area North of Porter Avenue.

In the first week of December 1975 a pre-engineered 40x80 building was delivered and the Club members under the direction of Doc Schaab, Bill Fleming and Bob Uhl set about putting the building up. By the end of the first Saturday in December is was snowing but the construction continued and before the end of the month the building was closed in and ready for operation when the ice left the Black Rock Channel.

This building was quickly called the Blue Building due to its color. It had no heat, no water, no plumbing, and a gravel floor. There were no lockers and one portable facility called the Ted and Bea Skarbowski.

The boats at Ferry Street were insured and with the ones returned from St. Catharine's, rowing continued with the 1976 season. West Side was the guest of the Buffalo State College at what was then known as The Great Lakes Laboratory. In the 1976 season, West Side competed in the Scholastic Championships, the Henley and the World Youth Trials.