PARK RIDGE—Just look at those cars! This 1930s photograph shows the tennis courts that once stood where the Park Ridge firehouse does now, behind borough hall, on Park Avenue. These clay courts opened in 1934 and were operated by the borough. For 25 cents per day anyone from town could use them.
In the first summer after the courts were built, the first public tennis tournament in the Pascack Valley took place. In July 1934 the Tri-Borough Tennis Tournament invited any player, male or female, from Montvale, Park Ridge, and Woodcliff Lake to sign up. Over several weeks a field of 27 players (nine from each town) battled their way to victory. George Bowman of South Fifth Street in Park Ridge was the standout—he won in men’s singles, and he was again victorious alongside Miss Nyquist in mixed doubles.
In 1935 the tournament was expanded to the wider region as the Park Ridge Open. Bowman proved his mettle all the way to the semifinal, but was bested by Alvan Pritchard of Westwood, who won the tournament. With businesses now on board as sponsors, the win came with a handsome trophy.
The courts were later removed and various recreational offerings came and went on the land behind borough hall over the years. There were basketball courts for a while, as well as a fondly remembered municipal pool.
The tennis craze of the 1970s brought about the return of the courts in 1978, but they were removed again in the following decade to make way for the firehouse.
— Kristin Beuscher is president of the Pascack Historical Society