History
Designed by the architectural firm of Helmle, Huberty and Hudswell, who also designed the Boathouse, the 1910 Tennis House was intended as a shelter and locker room for the era’s popular sport of Lawn Tennis. The Boathouse and Tennis House marked a sharp departure from Frederick Law Olmsted’s pastoral vision of very minimal, rustic Park structures. However, the Tennis House exemplifies the height of high British architectural taste for the period, with vaulted ceilings and a colonnaded pavilion that achieve an elegant composition tucked in among the trees and overlooking the Long Meadow.



                                                                      Postcard featuring lawn tennis on the Long Meadow, c. 1915



Restoration

In 1991, the Tennis House underwent the addition of a $100,000 wheelchair access ramp. In 1993, a $700,000 renovation project included the installation of new pavement, benches, light poles and a water fountain, in addition to the cleaning and reconstruction of the drainage system.

Click here to see the Tennis House today.