City shuts boathouse used by Temple U. and local high schools

Rowing teams from Temple University and three high schools have been shut out of the well-used East Park Canoe House in Fairmount Park after city inspectors found "significant building code violations," Fairmount Park executive director Mark A. Focht said in a statement today.

Students from Temple and La Salle, Father Judge and North Catholic have been told to remove their equipment from the building, used as a storage and change area, by Feb. 15, Focht said. A chain link fence has been erected around the structure and the teams have been told to give 24 hours notice before retrieving equipment. For safety reasons, only school employees – not students – will be allowed in the building, Focht said.

"Fairmount Park staff understands that this notice will create an inconvenience," Focth said. "However, our paramount concerns are to restore this historic park asset and to ensure the safety of all park users."

The Canoe House is on Kelly Drive at the Strawberry Mansion Bridge.

Team representatives hope that a meeting with the Fairmount Park Commission set for Thursday will result in an alternate place to store equipment, the Associated Press reported last night.