GIVE LOCAL ON MAY 5th TO YOUR FAVORITE CHARITIES!
We are spreading the word about a new fundraiser we will be participating in from May 5th to 6th. A branch of Give Local America, 
Give Local Westchester & Putnam will be hosting a marathon giving event. 
The 24-hour campaign, starting Tuesday,  May 5th at 12:01am, will be filled with challenges and target fundraising goals. 

Please consider supporting the  Jay Heritage Center and other local charities you love during this event!  Click below for more info or to see how we do!

 
SAVE THE DATE! FRIDAY , JUNE 5th, 2015 at 3:30pm
Meet Children's Author Jonah Winter ("Fair Ball! 14 Great Stars from Baseball's Negro Leagues") and Illustrator and Satirist Barry Blitt 
(known for his New Yorker covers) for a Book-Signing of 
"The Founding Fathers: Those Horse-Ridin', Fiddle-Playin', Book-Readin', Gun-Totin' Gentlemen Who Started America!" 

See a live drawing demonstration and hear them explain why John Jay was on 
"the Varsity Squad" for his important role in building our nation 
as a formidable Peacemaker.  Ideal for 2nd - 5th graders 
(and maybe their parents if they are lucky!) 

The program is free but seating is limited so reservations are required. 
Call  (914) 698-9275 or email us at [email protected]. 

Jay Gardens Gets Some TLC

Many hands, large and small, made our work much lighter when it came to this year's Spring clean up as you will see from some of the delightful photos in our 
  I Love My Park Day - Album 1: Moving the Biggest Branch Ever  ! 

On Saturday, May 2, as part of this 4th Annual park beautification initiative by New York State Parks and New York Parks & Trails , more than 40 high spirited, yellow (and Con Edison blue) t-shirted volunteers came out on a supremely sunny morning to show their love for the Jay Estate.   It was a tremendous outpouring of labor and dedication and we are so very grateful to everyone who picked up a rake, spade, shovel or stick (Atta boy Able Casey - center right!) Click here for more  Photos from I Love My Park Day - Album 2

Don't fret if you missed it! There are many more opportunities coming up on our calendar. If you are a high school student looking for community service hours or an area resident with docent experience or administrative skills, please contact us  and we will find a project for you. Regular Sunday tours of the 1838 Jay Mansion begin June 7th and continue through October. We welcome both visitors and volunteers who enjoy history and meeting new people; we can promise a beautiful vista and a glass of iced tea! 

Palmer Tennis House May Get New Life

Meanwhile, as we keep our eye on preserving and rehabilitating the buildings and grounds under our care we are looking to gather recollections and/or photos from anyone who may have played in the old Palmer Tennis House. The structure is one of the oldest enclosed courts in the United States and believed to date back to 1917 or earlier. It is a wood clapboard building 60 feet wide by 115 feet long with massive 3ft thick and 10ft high stone foundation walls. A magnificent wood and steel truss system supports the roof and is accented by 6 copper skylights over a clay court. 


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! 

With greatest appreciation always,  
The Board & Staff of the Jay Heritage Center

Did you notice how many of our programs are free?  
Help us provide more free educational programs for the public. 
Become a member or make a tax-deductible donation today! 

Jay Heritage Center  at the  Jay Estate
A National Historic Landmark
210 Boston Post Road, Rye, NY 10580


Follow us on  Like us on Facebook     Follow us on Twitter     View our photos on flickr   for news , updates and photos from our most recent programs and events. 

Copyright © 2015 All Rights Reserved.