ASUW Shell House

The ASUW Shell House, also known as the UW Canoe House, is a historic building on the University of Washington campus in Seattle. It was built in 1918, during World War I, as a wooden hangar for the U.S. Navy before the university took over the building. Thanks to its ideal location on the shore of Lake Washington, it served as the base for the university's men's rowing team from 1920 to 1949. The boats were stored here and prepared for races and training. The site became especially famous for the UW eight's Olympic gold medal in Berlin in 1936.

An important part of the building's history is the workshop of George Yeoman Pocock, a renowned boatbuilder who built racing shells here until 1949 that were ordered by universities across the United States. After the rowing team moved out in 1949, the building was renovated and served as a canoe rental station until the 1970s. Today the ASUW Shell House is listed as a historic landmark and is used by the university for public tours that explore the story of the 1936 team and the significance of the site for the waterfront.