The club hosted 60 editions of the U.S. National Championships (renamed the US Open Tennis Championships in 1968), first from 1915 to 1920, and then again from 1924 to 1977. In addition, the finals of the Davis Cup were held at the club 10 times, more than any other venue. The US Pro tournament was held at the venue 11 times, and another prominent professional tournament, the Tournament of Champions, was held at the venue 3 times. The West Side Tennis Club was the venue of the Forest Hills Tennis Classic, a now-defunct WTA Tour Tier IV event, and a men's challenger event. The Open saw some of its biggest moments and changes while at West Side, including the introduction of seedings in 1927, tiebreakers in 1970, equal prize money for men and women in 1973, and night play in 1975.[citation needed] Currently, the stadium is used as an outdoor concert venue.
The club was founded in 1892 when 13 original members rented land on Central Park West for three clay courts and a small clubhouse. Ten years later, the land had become too valuable, and the club moved to a site near Columbia University with room for eight courts. In 1908, the club moved again to a property at 238th Street and Broadway. The new site covered two city blocks and had 12 grass courts and 15 clay courts.
The club hosted the International Lawn Tennis Challenge (now known as the Davis Cup) in 1911. With crowds in the thousands, the club leadership realized that it would need to expand to a more permanent location. In 1912, a site in Forest Hills, Queens, was purchased. The signature Tudor-style clubhouse was built the next year.
In 1915, the United States Lawn Tennis Association National Championship, later renamed the U.S. Open, moved to West Side. By 1923, the success of the event necessitated the construction of a 14,000-seat horseshoe-shaped stadium that still stands today. The stadium's first event was the final of the International Lawn Tennis Challenge, which saw the U.S. defeat Australia.
In 1975, the tournament was switched to Har-Tru clay courts. By 1978, the tournament had outgrown West Side, and the USTA moved the tournament to the new USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows under USTA President William Hester's leadership.[3] In 2008, the stadium was the site of a women's satellite tournament.[4]
The New York Empire of World TeamTennis announced it would play its home matches, coached by Patrick McEnroe, at the stadium beginning with its inaugural 2016 season.[5] The team relocated to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for its second season in 2017.[6]
Following the 1978 departure of the Open the stadium fell into such disrepair that by 2011 it was called a "crumbling ruin" and was denied landmark status by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.[4] The West Side Tennis Club received an offer in 2010 to raze the stadium and replace it with condominiums.[9]
From 2013 to 2017, an extensive four-year renovation to revitalize the historic venue included several significant upgrades. Starting with patching up concrete exterior walls, old seats were removed and replaced by initially 1,200 new seats in 2014. A permanent stage was installed, designed by Mark Fisher, renowned for his sets for Pink Floyd, U2 and the Rolling Stones. A new concourse redesign expanded it to twice its original size for attendees to relax on a grassy court as well as easier access to food and beverages concessions. In addition to reserved seating in the club and bowl were improved seating options for people with disabilities. And after 70 years the central tennis courts were replaced with a standing room general admission floor to accommodate many thousands more people. And unique VIP party lounges were created from unused spaces discovered beneath the stadium after removal of decades-worth of rubble and debris.[12] Plans announced in 2018 to turn the stadium into a year-round venue as a winter village with an ice skating rink have yet to be realized as of 2022.[13]
The stadium also has a history of use as a filming location. The Alfred Hitchcock film Strangers on a Train (1951) was filmed in part during the 1950 Davis Cup finals at the West Side Tennis Club on August 25–27, 1950. Several scenes in Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums were filmed in and around the stadium, including the "Windswept Fields" meltdown of Richie Tenenbaum.[14]
^"Ethel's Tennis Tournament Is a Labor of Love - Vol. 2 No. 9".
^Steinberger, Michael (August 23, 2012). "Queens Was Burning, Too: The Chaotic Spectacle of the 1977 U.S. Open". The New York Times Magazine. pp. MM34. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
^ abChura, Nate (August 29, 2011). "Ruin in the Forest: A Stadium Once Fit For the US Open Falls Into Disrepair". WNYC. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
^. World TeamTennis. February 17, 2016. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
^Schwartz, Peter (March 7, 2017). "Schwartz: New York Empire Ready For Improved Second Season In World Team Tennis". CBS New York.
^"About Forest Hills Stadium". Forest Hills Stadium. New York. Retrieved April 22, 2016. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, and Simon & Garfunkel all graced the stage at Forest Hills during its heyday in the 1960s and 70s.
^"Forest Hills Music Festival 1967". Festivival. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
^Wotapka, Dawn (August 11, 2010). "U.S. Open Stadium May Go Condo". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
^"Past Shows". Forest Hills Stadium. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
^. Archived from the original on March 20, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
^Scileppi, Tammy (June 15, 2017). "Head for the hills: Forest Hills Stadium completes four-year renovation to revitalize historic venue". QNS. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
^Law, Tara (April 16, 2018). "Major Changes Planned at Forest Hills Stadium". Forest Hills Post. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
west, side, tennis, club, club, houston, texas, westside, tennis, club, coordinates, 7196, 8487, 7196, 8487, private, tennis, club, located, forest, hills, neighborhood, york, city, borough, queens, club, tennis, courts, four, surfaces, clay, court, grass, cou. For the club in Houston Texas see Westside Tennis Club Coordinates 40 43 11 N 73 50 55 W 40 7196 N 73 8487 W 40 7196 73 8487 The West Side Tennis Club is a private tennis club located in Forest Hills a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens The club has 38 tennis courts in all four surfaces clay court Har Tru grass court and hardcourt a junior Olympic size swimming pool and other amenities It is the home of the Forest Hills Stadium a 14 000 seat outdoor tennis stadium and concert venue 1 Forest Hills StadiumClub in 1912Former namesForest Hills Tennis StadiumLocationOne Tennis PlaceForest Hills Queens NY U S 11375Websitewww wbr foresthillstennis wbr comThe club hosted 60 editions of the U S National Championships renamed the US Open Tennis Championships in 1968 first from 1915 to 1920 and then again from 1924 to 1977 In addition the finals of the Davis Cup were held at the club 10 times more than any other venue The US Pro tournament was held at the venue 11 times and another prominent professional tournament the Tournament of Champions was held at the venue 3 times The West Side Tennis Club was the venue of the Forest Hills Tennis Classic a now defunct WTA Tour Tier IV event and a men s challenger event The Open saw some of its biggest moments and changes while at West Side including the introduction of seedings in 1927 tiebreakers in 1970 equal prize money for men and women in 1973 and night play in 1975 citation needed Currently the stadium is used as an outdoor concert venue Contents 1 History 2 Forest Hills Stadium 3 References 4 External linksHistory Edit Entrance Stadium late 2011 The club was founded in 1892 when 13 original members rented land on Central Park West for three clay courts and a small clubhouse Ten years later the land had become too valuable and the club moved to a site near Columbia University with room for eight courts In 1908 the club moved again to a property at 238th Street and Broadway The new site covered two city blocks and had 12 grass courts and 15 clay courts The club hosted the International Lawn Tennis Challenge now known as the Davis Cup in 1911 With crowds in the thousands the club leadership realized that it would need to expand to a more permanent location In 1912 a site in Forest Hills Queens was purchased The signature Tudor style clubhouse was built the next year In 1915 the United States Lawn Tennis Association National Championship later renamed the U S Open moved to West Side By 1923 the success of the event necessitated the construction of a 14 000 seat horseshoe shaped stadium that still stands today The stadium s first event was the final of the International Lawn Tennis Challenge which saw the U S defeat Australia Beginning in 1971 the stadium was home to the annual Robert F Kennedy Memorial Tennis Tournament which was a celebrity pro am for charity featuring the likes of Chevy Chase Arnold Schwarzenegger Carlos Santana Edward M Kennedy Elton John and more throughout the decade 2 In 1975 the tournament was switched to Har Tru clay courts By 1978 the tournament had outgrown West Side and the USTA moved the tournament to the new USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows under USTA President William Hester s leadership 3 In 2008 the stadium was the site of a women s satellite tournament 4 The New York Empire of World TeamTennis announced it would play its home matches coached by Patrick McEnroe at the stadium beginning with its inaugural 2016 season 5 The team relocated to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for its second season in 2017 6 Forest Hills Stadium Edit Poster for 1964 concerts at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium headlining Barbra Streisand Count Basie Woody Allen Johnny Mathis Harry Belafonte Peter Nero and The Beatles In addition to hosting the main court for tennis championships the Forest Hills Stadium has been used as a concert venue featuring major artists ranging from The Beatles Bob Dylan Frank Sinatra The Supremes Judy Garland Jimi Hendrix The Who Donna Summer Brand New Arctic Monkeys and Chance the Rapper 7 From 1961 to 1971 the stadium was also the location for the Forest Hills Music Festival 8 Following the 1978 departure of the Open the stadium fell into such disrepair that by 2011 it was called a crumbling ruin and was denied landmark status by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission 4 The West Side Tennis Club received an offer in 2010 to raze the stadium and replace it with condominiums 9 However in mid 2013 the stadium re opened as an outdoor concert venue with Mumford amp Sons performing the inaugural concert 10 Since then the Forest Hills Stadium has held a regular summer concert series featuring Santana Zac Brown Band D Angelo Van Morrison Arctic Monkeys and others 1 It is also the summer home of The New York Pops 11 From 2013 to 2017 an extensive four year renovation to revitalize the historic venue included several significant upgrades Starting with patching up concrete exterior walls old seats were removed and replaced by initially 1 200 new seats in 2014 A permanent stage was installed designed by Mark Fisher renowned for his sets for Pink Floyd U2 and the Rolling Stones A new concourse redesign expanded it to twice its original size for attendees to relax on a grassy court as well as easier access to food and beverages concessions In addition to reserved seating in the club and bowl were improved seating options for people with disabilities And after 70 years the central tennis courts were replaced with a standing room general admission floor to accommodate many thousands more people And unique VIP party lounges were created from unused spaces discovered beneath the stadium after removal of decades worth of rubble and debris 12 Plans announced in 2018 to turn the stadium into a year round venue as a winter village with an ice skating rink have yet to be realized as of 2022 13 The stadium also has a history of use as a filming location The Alfred Hitchcock film Strangers on a Train 1951 was filmed in part during the 1950 Davis Cup finals at the West Side Tennis Club on August 25 27 1950 Several scenes in Wes Anderson s The Royal Tenenbaums were filmed in and around the stadium including the Windswept Fields meltdown of Richie Tenenbaum 14 References Edit a b History Forest Hills Stadium Forest Hills Stadium Ethel s Tennis Tournament Is a Labor of Love Vol 2 No 9 Steinberger Michael August 23 2012 Queens Was Burning Too The Chaotic Spectacle of the 1977 U S Open The New York Times Magazine pp MM34 Retrieved September 5 2012 a b Chura Nate August 29 2011 Ruin in the Forest A Stadium Once Fit For the US Open Falls Into Disrepair WNYC Retrieved January 28 2013 Mylan World TeamTennis 2016 Season Includes Return to New York City Expanded Broadcast Coverage World TeamTennis February 17 2016 Archived from the original on June 6 2017 Retrieved June 4 2016 Schwartz Peter March 7 2017 Schwartz New York Empire Ready For Improved Second Season In World Team Tennis CBS New York About Forest Hills Stadium Forest Hills Stadium New York Retrieved April 22 2016 The Beatles The Rolling Stones Bob Dylan Barbra Streisand and Simon amp Garfunkel all graced the stage at Forest Hills during its heyday in the 1960s and 70s Forest Hills Music Festival 1967 Festivival Retrieved May 4 2022 Wotapka Dawn August 11 2010 U S Open Stadium May Go Condo The Wall Street Journal Retrieved November 20 2022 Past Shows Forest Hills Stadium Retrieved April 13 2020 The New York Pops Announces New Summer Home at Forest Hills Stadium the New York Pops Archived from the original on March 20 2016 Retrieved April 12 2016 Scileppi Tammy June 15 2017 Head for the hills Forest Hills Stadium completes four year renovation to revitalize historic venue QNS Retrieved May 4 2022 Law Tara April 16 2018 Major Changes Planned at Forest Hills Stadium Forest Hills Post Retrieved May 4 2022 the year 2015 windswept fields External links EditWest Side Tennis Club official website Forest Hills Stadium official websitePreceded byWorple Road LondonComain Cricket Club AucklandKooyong Stadium MelbourneWhite City Stadium SydneyMilton Courts Brisbane Davis Cup Final Venue19141921 1922 19231947 1948 1949 195019551959 Succeeded byDouble Bay Grounds SydneyGermantown Cricket Club PhiladelphiaWhite City Stadium SydneyMemorial Drive Park AdelaideWhite City Stadium SydneyPreceded byNewport Casino 1881 1914 Germantown Cricket Club 1921 1923 Home of theU S Open1915 19201924 1977 Succeeded byGermantown Cricket Club 1921 1923 USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center 1978 present Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title West Side Tennis Club amp oldid 1123000636, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
