Serving Nostalgia: A History of Tennis at Greenwood

Long before Greenwood was established as a public garden, one of the property’s earliest owners, the prosperous real-estate auctioneer, Joseph P. Day, commissioned William A. Renwick, a local artist, landscape designer, and architect, to conceive and construct a new home with extensive gardens and outbuildings to nurture and delight the lively young Day family. Among Renwick’s designs for the property that came to be called “Pleasant Days” was that of the small, stately Tennis Pavilion, used by the Day family for changing into tennis clothes and storing tennis equipment. Situated across from the 1925 and 1926 cottages, the Pavilion harmonized with the elegance of the Main House, showcasing tile and stucco exteriors, slate roofs, Renwick-inspired urns, custom-designed Rookwood tiles, and a pristine clay tennis court.

The Day family enjoying a game of tennis on the clay court, circa 1925

South of the Pavilion lay the Tennis Loggia, its curved pergola and arched gateway providing a picturesque link between the Main House and the tennis courts. The Loggia’s arched wall opening featured a charming wooden slat hand-gate, reminiscent of illustrations from a children’s nursery book, and was adorned with Rookwood tiles. The area was lushly planted with summer annuals, planters, and urns lining the steps and concrete walkways, as ivy gracefully draped the walls.

The Tennis Loggia, circa 1925

Although the original clay tennis court was transformed into the Cottage Parking Lot during the meticulous preparations for Greenwood Gardens’ public opening by the late Peter P. Blanchard III and his wife, Sofia A. Blanchard, and despite the 1950s demolition of the turnaround that once separated the Loggia from the house, these architectural treasures remain as enduring symbols of the elegance and beauty of a bygone era, preserving the enchanted spirit of “Pleasant Days” for all who visit the Greenwood of today.

Image at top of page: Tennis Pavilion, current day
Images below: Tennis Pavilion and Tennis Loggia, current day