Directions | History

[Click here if you are looking for the Tennis Center]

The Tennis House stands on a wooded rise facing the southern end of the Long Meadow. This striking neoclassical structure, designed by Boathouse architects Helmle and Huberty, features a Palladian colonnaded pavilion with a Guastavino tile ceiling. The introduction of these large neoclassical buildings into Prospect Park marked a sharp departure from Olmsted’s preference for minimal, rustic structures; however Olmsted himself chose its hilltop site. 

Built in 1910, it was originally intended as a shelter to accompany a favorite turn-of-the-century pastime, lawn tennis. In the Park’s early years, there were up to 300 lawn tennis courts spread over the Long Meadow, where hundreds engaged in this badminton-like recreation. Although the popularity of the sport faded in the 1920s, the structure’s open-air design achieves an intimacy with the Park that makes it a peaceful stop. From 1978 to 2008, the Tennis House served as headquarters for the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment (BCUE).  Today it houses offices for park landscape management and maintenance staffs.

Click here to learn about the history of the Tennis House.
 

Directions

The Tennis House is located on the edge of the Long Meadow. It is most accessible from the 3rd, 9th and 15th Street/Prospect Park West entrances. Walk towards the interior of the Park from any of these entrances and cross West Drive to the Long Meadow.

By Public Transportation: MTA Maps
• F or G Train to 15th Street-Prospect Park or 7th Avenue station
• 2 or 3 Train to Grand Army Plaza station
• Q or B Train to 7th Avenue station
• B68 Bus along Prospect Park Southwest to Bartel-Pritchard Circle (intersection of Prospect Park West and Prospect Park Southwest near 15th Street)
• B61 Bus along 9th Street to 9th Street/Prospect Park West

By Car:
From Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges: Take Flatbush Avenue to Grand Army Plaza, then Prospect Park West exit to 9th Street.

From Brooklyn-Queens Expressway: Take BQE to 38th Street exit. Make left on 4th Ave, then right on 9th Street to Prospect Park West.