Commemorating the Canoe House
In preparation for this weekend's Windermere Cup and the opening day of boating season, crews from Facilities Maintenance & Construction installed a bronze plaque commemorating the 1936 UW men's crew team featured in The Boys in the Boat.
While the bronze plaque was donated by Boys in the Boat author Daniel James Brown and installation coordinated by the UW Alumni Association. Facilities Construction's carpentry crews created the wooden mount from a piece of Deodar Cedar that came down on campus, painting crews stained and finished the wood, and carpenters installed the plaque on the side of the Canoe House.
"It was a fun project," said carpenter Mike Graham. "People were walking by asking us about the plaque and the history of the building while we were installing it."
Carpenters Mike Graham (left) and Tom Allen (right) stand with the commemorative bronze plaque after installing it on the side of the historic Canoe House on the University of Washington campus.
Facilities Maintenance & Construction's Mario Del Cid operates a power washer on the exterior of the Canoe House.
The installation took place just in time for this weekend's Windermere Cup. Last year, Facilities Maintenance & Construction's masonry crews cleaned and treated the Canoe House's shake siding. Next week, campus carpenters, glaziers, painters and masons will take on the Canoe House's windows — power washing, re-glazing, staining and installing windows to make them look new again.
Facilities Services crews will also refurbish a component on the sliding doors facing the Montlake Cut. Two years ago a piece of a nearby Poplar tree came off in a winter wind storm, taking out a few of the Canoe House's windows with it.
"We're excited to recreate parts of the sliding door, so it looks like the original," said Lance Hendrix, a supervisor with Facilities Construction.
