BoatHouse Restaurant (Warsaw, Indiana)

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700 Park Avenue
Winona Lake, IN 46590-1066
(574)268-2179
Fax:(574)268-9248
www.boathouseatwinona.com

On the shores of beautiful Winona Lake, the BoatHouse Restaurant continues a long love affair with water. In the 1870’s, three brothers by the name of Beyer purchased most of the land surrounding Eagle (later to become Winona) Lake. They were interested in using the springs in the area to provide natural refrigeration for their dairy and egg products. By the late 1880’s, the Beyers recognized the natural beauty of the area and began turning it into a lakeside resort complex. In 1895, the Beyer brothers partnered with the Indiana Synod of the Presbyterian Church to organize a religious summer
resort modeled after Chautauqua, New York. The new organization, The Winona Assembly and Summer School Association, quickly began
platting lots, erecting
buildings, and creating beautiful public spaces. One of the early buildings constructed by the Assembly was the
Boathouse. The original Boathouse was used to store the nearly three hundred watercraft the Assembly had available
for rent. Located on the northern intersection of the canal and the lake, it was a center of activity for the
hundreds of thousands who came to Winona. In the 1940’s, the Boathouse was removed and a new cafeteria
was built in its place. The cafeteria served the revived Winona Lake Bible Conference until the 1960’s when it was
converted to a roller skating rink. The new BoatHouse Restaurant is built on the same foundation as the old cafeteria
and is designed as an architectural reminder of the original Boathouse.