Survey plans of the Jay Estate by Brinley & Holbrook for then owner and Princeton philanthropist, Edgar Palmer, identify the building as a "tennis house." It predates the Raquet and Tennis Club in New York (1918) and JP Morgan's indoor tennis building on Jekyl Island (1929) which shares similar design elements. Our hope is to rehabilitate this as a functioning indoor tennis court or multipurpose space for community use.
Its architect is unknown but its design is similar to 2 other enclosed tennis facilities created by New York architect Walter D. Blair for the renowned Jekyl Island Club in Georgia, one in 1913 for Edwin Gould, son of financier Jay Gould and one in 1929 for J.P. Morgan. Blair is also the architect on record for at least 2 other covered tennis courts executed in the early 1900s - one for Robert Brewster in Mount Kisco, NY and another for Pastime Tennis Company on Queens Boulevard in Long Island.
The building was in use well until the 1980s and was used for the Eastern Interscholastic Doubles Championships in the 1960s ( one of the winners, Sean Sloane went on to coach tennis at Williams College!) If you played tennis in this building or have any photos or recollections of the site, please let us know!
