Type | Social club |
---|---|
23-0998230 | |
Headquarters | 219 S. 16th Street |
Location | |
Website | www |
Philadelphia Racquet Club | |
Coordinates | 39°56′55.9″N75°10′4.74″W / 39.948861°N 75.1679833°W |
Built | 1906 |
Architect | Horace Trumbauer |
Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 79002326 [1] |
Added to NRHP | August 1, 1979 |
The Racquet Club of Philadelphia (RCOP) is a private social club and athletic club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It has facilities for squash, real tennis, and racquets. The club is ranked in the Top 20 Athletic Clubs on the Platinum Club of America list. [2]
Established in 1889, the Club started its life in a modest facility at 923 Walnut Street. Under the leadership of George D. Widener, the current 16th Street Clubhouse was built by architect Horace Trumbauer. Historian Nathaniel Burt described the new 1907 Clubhouse as "by far the best appointed...of all Philadelphia clubs." [3] The clubhouse is one of the first reinforced concrete structures designed in Philadelphia, and also includes the world's first above grade swimming pool, designed by the noted bridge builders Roebling Construction Company. The building's red-brick, Georgian design, is evocative of historic Philadelphia, and the Clubhouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The Club was the site of the invention of squash doubles by Frederick C. Tompkins. The new building had a space that was too large for a standard squash court but too small for further locker facilities and Tomkins recommended that it be used for squash doubles. [4] [5]
The RCOP's racquet sport facilities include 6 international squash singles courts, 1 squash doubles court, 1 court tennis court, and 1 racquets court. The Club also has overnight rooms along with a fitness center for the use of members and sponsored guests, as well as a bar and serves lunch daily. It is open to members 365 days a year and is located on 16th Street between Walnut and Locust in the heart of Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square area.
The Club has hosted many international court tennis, racquets, and squash doubles tournaments and has produced notable U.S. national champions including Jay Gould, Jock Soutar, Stanley Pearson and Morris Clothier.
The U.S. Squash Hall of Fame was briefly at the Club until moving to Yale University. [6]
Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United States, royal tennis in England and Australia, and courte-paume in France. Many French real tennis courts are at jeu de paume clubs.
Squash tennis is an American variant of squash, one played with a ball and racquets that are more similar to the equipment used for lawn tennis, and with somewhat different rules. The game offers the complexity of squash and the speed of racquetball.
Rackets or racquets is an indoor racket sport played in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada. It is infrequently called "hard rackets" to distinguish it from the related sport of squash.
The Newport Casino is an athletic complex and recreation center located at 180–200 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island in the Bellevue Avenue/Casino Historic District. Built in 1879–1881 by New York Herald publisher James Gordon Bennett, Jr., it was designed in the Shingle style by the newly formed firm of McKim, Mead & White. The Newport Casino was the firm's first major commission and helped to establish the firm's national reputation. Built as a social club, it included courts for both lawn tennis and court tennis, facilities for other games, such as squash and lawn bowling, club rooms for reading, socializing, card-playing, and billiards, shops, and a convertible theater and ballroom. It became a center of Newport's social life during the Gilded Age through the 1920s.
The Racquet and Tennis Club, familiarly known as the R&T, is a private social and athletic club at 370 Park Avenue, between East 52nd and 53rd Streets in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
The Tuxedo Club is a private member-owned country club located on West Lake Road in the village of Tuxedo Park, New York, in the Ramapo Mountains. Founded in 1886 by Pierre Lorillard IV, its facilities now include an 18-hole golf course, lawn tennis, court tennis, racquets, squash, platform tennis, olympic-sized pool, and boating. The tuxedo was first introduced to America by New York millionaire James Potter at the club's first Autumn ball in 1886, after a trip to England.
The Tennis and Racquet Club is a private social club and athletic club located at 939 Boylston Street, in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is a contributing structure in the National Register Historic District.
The Racquet Club of Chicago is a private social club and athletic club within the Gold Coast Historic District. The classical revival building was designed by architect Andrew Rebori, constructed in 1923. It is a contributing structure within the National Register Gold Coast Historic District.
Merion Cricket Club is a private club which is located in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1865.
The Germantown Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was one of the four principal cricket clubs in the city and was one of the clubs contributing members to the Philadelphian cricket team. It was founded on August 10, 1854 in what is now the northwest section of the city, and is the nation's second oldest cricket club. Its clubhouse was designed by architects McKim, Mead & White. The U.S. National tennis championship, precursor to today's US Open, was played on Germantown Cricket's lawn tennis courts from 1921 to 1923.
Camden Riviere is an American left-handed real tennis player and current world champion. He became world champion on May 21, 2016, defeating long-time holder Robert Fahey 7 sets to 2 at Riviere's home court, the National Tennis Club, Newport, Rhode Island. Two years later, at Riviere's first defense of the title, Fahey reclaimed the title beating Riviere by 7 sets to 5 at Queen's Club, London. Riviere regained the title from Fahey at the 2022 World Championship played at Prested Hall in Feering, Essex, England, winning by 7 sets to 5. He retained the title in 2023, defeating John Lumley 7 sets to 3 at the Westwood Country Club in Vienna, Virginia.
Baltimore Country Club is a private club in Baltimore, Maryland, with two campuses, one in the city's Roland Park neighborhood and the other in the north suburb of Lutherville. It is one of only twelve clubs nationwide to operate two campuses. The club was founded on January 13, 1898, and hosted the U.S. Open the following year. Its original golf course at the Roland Park campus was the first 18-hole course built in the state of Maryland. The USGA lists Baltimore Country Club as one of the first 100 clubs established in the United States.
The Edgbaston Priory Club is a private members' tennis, squash and leisure club in Birmingham, England. The club is the host of the annual WTA Tour stop, the Rothesay Classic. The 'Ann Jones Court' stadium has a capacity of 2,500 people.
Buffalo Tennis and Squash Club is a historic clubhouse building in Buffalo in Erie County, New York. It was built in 1915–1916 and is a 2+1⁄2-story, Classical Revival–style building with a hipped roof. It is constructed of hollow tile and is sheathed in stucco with brick quoins. The original building was enlarged with the addition of two doubles squash courts in 1929. A second tennis court was added in 1968.
The Tavern Club is a private social club in the Central neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Its home is a building designed by architect J. Milton Dyer in a Northern Renaissance style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It was also designated as a landmark by the City of Cleveland. Tavern was built at a time when, just a block away, Cleveland's Millionaire's Row on Euclid Avenue was among the wealthiest neighborhoods in the world, and home to many members.
Squash Doubles is a variant of the racket sport squash played by four people in two-person teams. Doubles squash was first played at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia in 1907. Today there are four major doubles organizations overseeing the sport in North America and more than 15,000 players: Squash Canada, U.S. Squash, the ISDA and the WDSA. The four groups organize and oversee the management of all aspects of doubles including junior and adult play from beginner to elite professional competition. In addition, the four organizations collaborate in efforts to grow and promote the game.
The Missouri Athletic Club, founded in 1903, is a private city and athletic club with two locations. The Downtown Clubhouse is in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri, USA and the West Clubhouse is located in the St. Louis County suburb of Town and Country.
The Missouri Athletic Club's Downtown Clubhouse is a historic building having Renaissance Revival architecture. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
The University Club of Washington, D.C., is an American private club in downtown Washington, D.C., United States.
The Apawamis Club is a private country club located in Rye, New York, Westchester County, long known for its 18-hole golf course and prominence in the sport of squash. The 1911 U.S. Amateur was contested here, resulting in a playoff between the reigning British Amateur champion, Harold Hilton, and his lesser-known American opponent, Fred Herreshoff. Apawamis is also the home base of a nationally recognized junior squash program and hosts the world renowned Briggs Cup tournament.
... Jock Soutar, who holds a similar position with the Philadelphia Racquet and Tennis Club ...