The Racquet Club of Philadelphia (RCOP) is a private social club and athletic club in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. It has facilities for

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

, real tennis, and racquets. The club is ranked in the Top 20 Athletic Clubs on the Platinum Club of America list.

History

Established in 1889, the Club started its life in a modest facility at 923 Walnut Street. Under the leadership of George D. Widener, the current 16th Street Clubhouse was built by architect

Horace Trumbauer Horace Trumbauer (December 28, 1868 – September 18, 1938) was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of ...

. Historian Nathaniel Burt described the new 1907 Clubhouse as "by far the best appointed...of all Philadelphia clubs."Nathaniel Burt, Perennial Philadelphians: The Anatomy of an American Aristocracy, Little, Brown and Company, 1963 (reprinted 1999), p. 268
/ref> The clubhouse is one of the first reinforced concrete structures designed in Philadelphia, and also includes the world's first above grade swimming pool, designed by the noted bridge builders Roebling Construction Company. The building's red-brick, Georgian design, is evocative of historic Philadelphia, and the Clubhouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The Club was the site of the invention of squash doubles by Frederick C. Tompkins. The new building had a space that was too large for a standard squash court but too small for further locker facilities and Tomkins recommended that it be used for squash doubles. The RCOP's racquet sport facilities include 6 international squash singles courts, 1 squash doubles court, 1 court tennis court, and 1 racquets court. The Club also has overnight rooms along with a fitness center for the use of members and sponsored guests, as well as a bar and serves lunch daily. It is open to members 365 days a year and is located on 16th Street between Walnut and Locust in the heart of Philadelphia's

Rittenhouse Square Rittenhouse Square is a neighborhood, including a public park, in Center City Philadelphia. The park is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century. The neighborho ...

area. The Club has hosted many international court tennis, racquets, and squash doubles tournaments and has produced notable U.S. national champions including Jay Gould, Jock Soutar, Stanley Pearson and Morris Clothier. The

U.S. Squash US Squash is the Sport governing body, national governing body for the sport of Squash (sport), squash in the United States. Previously called The United States Squash Racquets Association, it is headquartered in New York City and is a member of t ...

Hall of Fame was briefly at the Club until moving to

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

Champion Members

* Jock Soutar. *

Jay Gould II Jay Gould II (September 1, 1888 – January 26, 1935) was an American real tennis player and a grandson of the railroad magnate Jay Gould. He was the world champion (1914–1916) and the Olympic gold medalist (London, 1908, then und ...

. * Morris Clothier.

References

External links

The Racquet Club of Philadelphia
{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania 1889 establishments in Pennsylvania Athletics clubs in the United States Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Organizations based in Philadelphia Racquets venues in the United States Real tennis venues Sports clubs established in 1889 Squash venues in the United States Sports venues in Philadelphia Tennis in Pennsylvania Gentlemen's clubs in the United States History of Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia Sports venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Horace Trumbauer buildings Tennis venues in Pennsylvania Tennis clubs

History

Champion Members

See also

References

External links