Racquet and Tennis Club
Encyclopedia
The Racquet and Tennis Club is a private social club
and athletic club
located at 370 Park Avenue
, between East 52nd and 53rd Streets, New York, New York
.
of the former firm McKim, Mead, and White
in an integrated Italian Renaissance
style, the Racquet and Tennis Club building is representative of the ornate private clubs constructed in New York during the early twentieth century. Today it performs an important architectural role on Park Avenue
as a foil to the Seagram Building
and the Lever House
and other corporate structures in the glass-clad vocabulary of International Modernism..
Construction began on December 20, 1916, and was completed on September 7, 1918. The builder was Mark Edlitz, and the estimated cost was $400,000. The building is about 200 feet by 100 feet (30 m x 60 m) and five stories tall. The exterior is stone and brick over a structural steel frame. According to the original plans, the interior contained three dining rooms, a billiard
room, library, lounge, gymnasium, four squash
courts, two court tennis (real tennis
) courts, and two racquets
courts. Today, there are four International squash courts, one North American doubles squash court, one racquets court, and the two tennis courts.
On July 13, 1983, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
The club sold its air rights
on Park Avenue to a developer a number of decades ago, resulting in the unusual sight, for New York, of a glass-clad skyscraper rising in the middle of the block, immediately behind the club.
In 1987, the club famously refused to allow Evelyn David (who was, obviously, not a member of the club) to train for the Women's World Tennis Championship, citing its men-only rules. At the time, Ms. David was considered by several leading members of the club to be in the top six or seven female court tennis players in the United States.
Club professionals have been world champions in both racquets and real tennis. The most famous was Pierre Etchebaster
, Real Tennis World Champion (1928-1956). Neil Smith was World Racquets Singles Champion (1999-2001), and World Doubles Champion (1992-2001). James Stout recently captured the Rackets World Champion moniker with a resounding victory over Harry Foster. Tim Chisholm
(partnered by Julian Snow
) won the Real Tennis Doubles World Championship in 2001.
Gentlemen's club
A gentlemen's club is a members-only private club of a type originally set up by and for British upper class men in the eighteenth century, and popularised by English upper-middle class men and women in the late nineteenth century. Today, some are more open about the gender and social status of...
and athletic club
Athletic club
An athletic club may be*A private club which provides sports facilities to members.*A sports club dedicated to athletics, often professional and fielding competitive teams...
located at 370 Park Avenue
Park Avenue (Manhattan)
Park Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Through most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....
, between East 52nd and 53rd Streets, New York, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Building
Designed by Charles Follen McKimCharles Follen McKim
Charles Follen McKim FAIA was an American Beaux-Arts architect of the late 19th century. Along with Stanford White, he provided the architectural expertise as a member of the partnership McKim, Mead, and White....
of the former firm McKim, Mead, and White
McKim, Mead, and White
McKim, Mead & White was a prominent American architectural firm at the turn of the twentieth century and in the history of American architecture. The firm's founding partners were Charles Follen McKim , William Rutherford Mead and Stanford White...
in an integrated Italian Renaissance
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...
style, the Racquet and Tennis Club building is representative of the ornate private clubs constructed in New York during the early twentieth century. Today it performs an important architectural role on Park Avenue
Park Avenue (Manhattan)
Park Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Through most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....
as a foil to the Seagram Building
Seagram Building
The Seagram Building is a skyscraper, located at 375 Park Avenue, between 52nd Street and 53rd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, in collaboration with Philip Johnson. Severud Associates were the structural engineering consultants. The building...
and the Lever House
Lever House
Lever House, designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and located at 390 Park Avenue in New York City, is the quintessential and seminal glass-box skyscraper built in the International style according to the design principles of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Completed in 1952, it was...
and other corporate structures in the glass-clad vocabulary of International Modernism..
Construction began on December 20, 1916, and was completed on September 7, 1918. The builder was Mark Edlitz, and the estimated cost was $400,000. The building is about 200 feet by 100 feet (30 m x 60 m) and five stories tall. The exterior is stone and brick over a structural steel frame. According to the original plans, the interior contained three dining rooms, a billiard
Billiards
Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
room, library, lounge, gymnasium, four squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
courts, two court tennis (real tennis
Real tennis
Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original indoor racquet sport from which the modern game of lawn tennis , is descended...
) courts, and two racquets
Racquets (sport)
Rackets or Racquets is an indoor racket sport played in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada...
courts. Today, there are four International squash courts, one North American doubles squash court, one racquets court, and the two tennis courts.
On July 13, 1983, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
The club sold its air rights
Air rights
Air rights are a type of development right in real estate, referring to the empty space above a property. Generally speaking, owning or renting land or a building gives one the right to use and develop the air rights....
on Park Avenue to a developer a number of decades ago, resulting in the unusual sight, for New York, of a glass-clad skyscraper rising in the middle of the block, immediately behind the club.
Club
Unlike many other private clubs that once catered exclusively to men and now admit women, the Racquet and Tennis has held fast to its men-only membership policy. (Women are welcome at club social events, however.) Its ancestor, The Racquet Court Club, opened in 1876 at 55 West 26th Street with only a racquets court. The second club house at 27 West 43rd Street (1891) had one racquets court and one real tennis court. The club moved to the Park Avenue home in 1918.In 1987, the club famously refused to allow Evelyn David (who was, obviously, not a member of the club) to train for the Women's World Tennis Championship, citing its men-only rules. At the time, Ms. David was considered by several leading members of the club to be in the top six or seven female court tennis players in the United States.
Club professionals have been world champions in both racquets and real tennis. The most famous was Pierre Etchebaster
Pierre Etchebaster
Pierre Etchebaster is widely considered history's greatest player of real tennis , the original racquet sport from which the modern game of lawn tennis , is descended.Born in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France, a Basque fishing village, he served in the French Army during World War I before...
, Real Tennis World Champion (1928-1956). Neil Smith was World Racquets Singles Champion (1999-2001), and World Doubles Champion (1992-2001). James Stout recently captured the Rackets World Champion moniker with a resounding victory over Harry Foster. Tim Chisholm
Tim Chisholm
Tim Chisholm is a semi-retired American real tennis player. Tim is currently Racquets Director at The Tuxedo Club in Tuxedo Park, New York. A former lawn tennis player, Chisholm switched to the original game of tennis around the year 2000...
(partnered by Julian Snow
Julian Snow (real tennis)
Julian Snow is a champion amateur real tennis player.He has won 18 British Amateur Singles Championships , eclipsing Howard Angus' previous record of 16 wins....
) won the Real Tennis Doubles World Championship in 2001.