Grandstanding

Was going to blip another bird, but was scared of getting it wrong again ;-)

This is the Soutustadion, close to our fav caff. For those interested the following is a translation (courtesy of the Evil Empire) from the Finnish Wikipedia page.

The Rowing Stadium is a stadium built in 1938-1940 in Helsinki's Taka-Töölö in Taivallahti, Finland, for the upcoming Olympic Games kayaking and rowing event. The stadium was designed by architect Hilding Ekelund.

The rowing club was built for the 1940 Olympic Games granted to Helsinki, but they had to be withdrawn because of the war. The length of the stage of the stadium was 2,000 meters and the depth at every point over two meters. There was 1,000 seats in the covered auditorium, which was completed in 1939, near the finish line, but it was estimated that a total of 4,500 spectators could be accommodated at all stadiums in the stadium.

The rowing stadium was prone to wind, and for this reason the Olympic Games were designed to lock icebreakers to protect the wind from the nearby Lauttasaari bridge. As the 1952 Olympic Games approached, the stadium was eventually found to be too windy for rowing racing and Meilahti built an interim rowing stadium. On the other hand, the racing club in Taivallahti organized the canoeing competitions.

The Rowing Stadium is a landmark on Taivallahden rantabulevard, along the Merikantoja road, and is still in busy use. In the vicinity of the stadium, the wooden boat and olympic class rowing all year round. Outside the open season you can have an indoor swim, and in the summer you can take part in a rowing school open to everyone. From the stadium you can also rent church cabins and get guidance for their use. The stadium can be used for various party events, such as a wedding party. In the winter, the Rowing Stadium maintains an open-air swimming-pool and in the adjacent rowing rush you can take a guided inner-paving tour. Stadion architecturally according to the value scale? the auditorium has for a long time been closed to the public, but its opening for some sort of audience is a source of presentation.