Weld Boathouse Reopens to a New Generation of Rowers

Weld Boathouse, one of Harvard’s two crew boathouses, welcomed rowers back to its historic space last week after more than a year of renovations. The boathouse — home to the Harvard-Radcliffe rowing teams as well as recreational and intramural rowing — has not seen a renovation this large since its construction in 1906.

Renovations, which began in July 2022, were completed by contractor Consigli Construction and architecture firms Bruner/ Cott Architects and Peterson Architects.

The interior space was renovated to include a new team locker room, coaches’ offices, and training space.

Harvard Athletics spokesperson Darin A. Wong wrote in an emailed statement that “the majority of the funding was from donor philanthropy.”

The exterior renovations include changes to the boathouse’s stucco, windows and doors, and the replacement of the terracotta roof.

The project also enhanced the electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems. This summer, new docks will be installed to replace the aging wooden planks.

“It’s like someone turned on the sun in here,” said Liz O’Leary, the Harvard-Radcliffe women’s heavyweight crew head coach, pointing to new, clear windows in the newly designated training room.

“They’ve done a spectacular job,” she added. “The space hasn’t changed, but the use is much more functional, much more efficient — and that’s great — but without losing the character.”

Kelly A. Evans ’10, the assistant Harvard-Radcliffe heavyweight crew coach, concurred with O’Leary.

“To see this boathouse restored and set up to provide both a state-of-the-art experience for future generations of Radcliffe women while sort of staying true to the history and tradition of the Radcliffe experience is really cool,” she said.

Still, there were some obstacles to bringing the 22,000 square foot building into the 21st century. Construction on the boathouse required Harvard to adhere to preservation restrictions ic Places.

The project faced some pushback late last year when the Charles River Watershed Association advocated for public access to the boathouse, citing Chapter 91 of the Massachusetts Pub - due to its listing on the State Register of Historic Places, as well as its location on the Charles River Basin Historic District, which is in the National Register of Histor- lic Waterfront Act — which states that private constructions on the Charles must “serve a proper public purpose.”

They’ve done a spectacular job. The space hasn’t changed, but the use is much more functional, much more efficient — and that’s great — but without losing the character.

The renovations to Weld Boat- house will be followed by a remodeling of Newell Boathouse, its counterpart across the Charles and home to Harvard men’s crew. During the renovations to Weld, the College’s rowing teams shared Newell, and while Newell is under construction, the teams will share Weld.

Despite the shared space, Weld Boathouse is still “a unique space in that it provides space for women and for women athletes to train to become the best versions of themselves,” Evans said.

“I feel the spirit of Radcliffe here,” said Radcliffe rower Aurelia M.M. Elliott ’26. “I feel the history — the legacy — of our team in this space, which is really empowering.”

“Just look at these walls,” added Meena S. Baher ’26, a freshman Radcliffe rower. “So many women have come before us, inside of this one space, and now we get to create the next chapter of it.”

BY JACKSON C. SENNOTT CRIMSON STAFF WRITER jackson.sennott@thecrimson.com

Culture

In the unfortunate event that Claire Saffitz ’09 — renowned pastry chef, author, and YouTube personality behind “Dessert Person” — could only enjoy one food for the rest of her life, she would go back to the basics.

“Probably bread and butter,” Saffitz said in an interview with The Crimson. “Every time they have, like, good butter on homemade bread or something like that, I just am convinced it’s the best thing I’d ever eat. And I don’t think I would ever get tired of it.”

Since Saffitz’s time at Harvard, much has changed — Adams House, her former residence hall, is undergoing renovations, Café Pamplona has long since closed its doors, and STEM students find themselves walking over the bridge to Allston for course meetings. Perhaps surprisingly though, even more has stayed just the same.

From dinners with her sophomore seminar leader Tim at local restaurant Daedalus to various courses with English professor Glenda R. Carpio, Saffitz’s Harvard bears a remarkable resemblance to the one loved by current students.

“I had so many good memories of my time at Harvard and I loved, I loved, living in Cambridge. I just loved the kind of atmosphere and the amount of, a sort of like, cultural opportunities there,” Saffitz said.

“I regret that I actually didn’t take advantage of it more,” Saffitz finished. Despite her regrets, Saffitz is — in many respects — a Harvard success story. As a decorated pastry chef, author of two baking books (“Dessert Person” and “What’s for Dessert”), and well-known YouTube personality of Bon Appétit “Gourmet Makes” fame, Saffitz represents the joyful accomplishments that can come from pursuing the arguably unconventional path.

“I felt like at Harvard, at least at a time when I was a student, there were sort of set tracks and I didn’t really fit into any of them,” Saffitz said.

When asked about her career prospects while in college, Saffitz said that she was interested in journalism, which presented some challenges: “I remember just not really feeling like I had a lot of support or like there was just sort of a kind of built in support system for people that wanted to pursue that like there was for people who wanted to go into finance or medicine or law.”

For students aspiring to medical school, graduate degree pro -