prospect park: at the tennis house

Perched on a hill east of the 9th Street entrance to Prospect Park sits one of my favorite buildings in Brooklyn: the Tennis House. Built in 1910 by the architects Helmle and Huberty, the structure features “a Palladian colonnaded pavilion with a Guastavino tile ceiling.” According to Prospect Park’s history of the Tennis House, its neoclassical style marked a “sharp departure” in Frederick Law Olmsted’s traditionally-rustic tastes and was originally designed to provide storage and shelter for 300 lawn tennis courts (!) on the Long Meadow.

Though ladies in prim hats, full skirts, and bustles no longer grace the courts, the Tennis House still presides over the shady hilltop as a graceful reminder of its genteel past.

I think I’ll leave my racket at home and bring a picnic blanket, a good book and enjoy the view.