Before the 10th East Senior Center: Origins of the Salt Lake Tennis Club

In 1912 the Salt Lake Tennis Club opened at what is now the Tenth East Senior Center at 237 S 1000 East SLC.

Tennis Tournaments were popular for both men and women in Salt Lake during the 1910s

Brothers Orange J. Salisbury Jr and R. Walker Salisbury financed the construction of five clay courts and a concrete clubhouse at a cost of $25K (~$830K today).

Membership in the Salt Lake Tennis Club was by invitation only and limited to 85 shares. Utah's social elite played tennis while Joe Dally, formerly of the California Tennis Club, served as professional.

The club became one of the first in the West to join the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association. Tournaments drew players from across the Intermountain region. For 15 years, the courts remained private.

A 1912 newspaper photograph of the new Salt Lake Tennis clubhouse and courts.

A side-by-side comparison of an artist rendering before construction of the Salt Lake Tennis Club, and a photograph of its completion. Photograph is from UDSH.

The Salt Lake Tennis courts and clubhouse, June 29, 1912. Image from UDSH.

In 1927 Salt Lake City purchased the property from Salisbury and it was renamed Victory Recreation Center, a name suggested by Clarence W. Bowman who received a season pass for the winning name. Activities included new playgrounds, reading, swimming, table games, swings, and athletics.

The Salt Lake Tennis Club was allowed to remain as a private club and continued hosting nearly every major tennis tournament in Utah. The Tennis Club moved to Forest Dale in 1933 (the club is now known as the Salt Lake Tennis and Health Club). The Victory Recreation Center became fully public, and the five clay courts were converted to cement.

The University of Utah won against Brigham Young University at the Utah state collegiate tennis tournament at the newly named Victory Recreation Park, 1927.
From Salt Lake Tribune June 3 p12.

In the 1940s the Victory Boys and Girls' Club operated at the site. After that club relocated in 1945, the building later housed the Jaycee Boys and Girls Club. By 1954, the building was condemned.

That year, 15 seniors formed the Silver Crest group and began renovating the condemned building themselves including installing cupboards, laying tile, painting, and contributing furnishings. By 1960, about 1,000 people per week were using the facility.

Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County partnered to build the new Tenth East Senior Center in 1963. The city provided the land and landscaping and the county funded construction including the 1977 expansion.