By Rob Garber for the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group
Welcome to another installment in the Rag’s Historical Photo Challenge. The image above was taken somewhere on the Upper West Side, sometime in the past. Can you figure out where, when, and what it shows? Look closely; this week’s challenge photo, like the others in the series, includes clues that will help you identify the scene, if you’re a dedicated UWS history sleuth. And even if you don’t recognize the picture—not to worry! Come back in two weeks and I’ll decode it, show you the clues that help identify it, and—best of all—tell you a story the image unlocks, because this column isn’t just a test of your neighborhood knowledge; it’s also a rolling celebration of the people, buildings and events that wove the tapestry of the Upper West Side.
Ready? If you think you know where and when the photo was taken and what it shows, post your answer as a comment on this column.
Solution to Historical Photo Challenge #7
Subject: West Side Tennis Club
Location: Looking North to West 89th Street just west of Central Park West
Date: between 1892 and 1902
Image Source: Office of Metropolitan History and The New York Times, 2 August 2012
Clues: The north side of 89th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue is a paragon of preservation, starting with 291 CPW’s distinctive pattern of red and white stripes, and continuing with an unbroken series of row houses that extend nearly to Columbus. What tennis players saw in 1900 is what you still see today!
The rest of the story: There were several space-requiring enterprises that kept relocating as Manhattan development moved uptown and UWS property values increased. These included nurseries and greenhouses, skating rinks, and tennis courts. The West Side Tennis Club began on these three clay courts in 1892. By 1902, The New York Tribune reported that “part of the land is to be cut up for building purposes,” and the club began a series of moves, first to Amsterdam Avenue and West 117th Street, then to Broadway and West 238th Street, and finally, in 1912, to the property in Queens that it still occupies, and which hosted 60 US Opens and 10 Davis Cups. Now you know why the famous Forest Hills tennis venue’s owner is named The West Side Tennis Club!
Shoutout to Readers: several of you (Ish Kabibble, Harriet, Steven, Ginger, Janet, Jesse Margolis, AnnieNYC, Steve, Allie, Steven Kunreuther, DonB) knew that the Challenge No. 7 image showed West Side Tennis Club courts before the club began its moves uptown and eventually to Queens. Hat tip to Jesse and Steven K for noting that there’s a plaque at 285 CPW which mentions the old courts.
…and that’s the story behind the mystery image. Now scroll back to the top of the column and take on your next challenge, Sherlockians! If you’ve missed any columns in this series, here is the complete collection. All photos used by permission.
About the author: Rob Garber has lived on the Upper West Side since the late 20th century and is a member of the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group. To learn more, visit their website at upperwestsidehistory.org. All photos in Upper West Side Historical Photo Challenge are used by permission.
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Off the shore under the site of and during the Building of the George Washington Bridge. Near Red lighthouse.
What is interesting about the West Side Tennis club, is that a 1921 city map locates the tennis club on W 92-93 St between Amsterdam and Broadway. The map also shows a row of stores that front Broadway on this block. I found this map while researching the history of the land where The Clayton now stands. This was the only reference to this particular West Side Tennis Club’s location that I found and have been unable to verify that it actually stood here.
Sometime during big freeze in 1880s.
USS Constitution “in ordinary” (that is, laid up and out of service), 1881-1882 somewhere between pier 97 (W 57th St) and about W 70th St where pier 1 juts out into the river.
wasn’t that when the tall ship crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge about 1-2 yrs ago
Not even remotely funny if you’ve ever worked on a tall ship, which I have. People died in Brooklyn. You’d be scared out of your mind before you were 30 feet off the deck, playah.
I think it’s the Hudson River in front of Grant’s Tomb, between 120th and 125th street. It looks like we can see a partially completed Grant’s tomb off the ship’s starboard bow, which makes me think the photo was taken in the winter of either 1894-95 or 1895-96, when work on Grant’s Tomb had started but not been completed. There’s also the railroad track in the foreground, which is still there.
It certainly looks like Grants Tomb before the dome was put on. But what is going on in the picture? The dock is bent at strange angles and there are many pieces of broken wood on the dock and in the water.
I think about one hundred and twenty fifth street pier.
Looks like the Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir to me on a nice summer day!
Ice on the Hudson off Riverside drive north of Grant’s Tomb
I think it’s at west 96th street.
I’m thinking that this is the Hudson River at about 68th Street, circa 1890s? The pier looks like the one that’s currently being rehab’d. And I remember there was another one very similar to it just to the south. The RR Yard appears to be in the background and that looks like the old wall that separated Freedom Place from the RR Yards.
Shakespeare in the Park’s production of the Pirates of Penzance got out of hand when the ship set rammed into the pier installed in Central Park Meer. Ethel Merman was forced to jump from the ship’s bridge and swim to safety onshore.