Merion Cricket Club

Merion Cricket Club
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
The "Main House," of brick and stone, replaced a wooden clubhouse that was destroyed by fire in September 1896.
Location:	Montgomery Avenue & Grays Lane, Haverford, Pennsylvania
Coordinates:	40°0′56″N 75°17′53″W
Built:	1897
Architect:	Furness, Evans & Co.
Architectural style:	Late Victorian/Colonial Revival
Governing body:	Private
NRHP Reference#:	87000759
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	February 27, 1987
Designated NHL:	February 27, 1987

Merion Cricket Club is a private club in Haverford, Pennsylvania, founded in 1865. The current clubhouse is its sixth, the last four having been designed by Philadelphia architect Frank Furness and his partner, Allen Evans (a Club founder).

History

The club was founded in October 1865 by William Montgomery and Marshall Ewing, and its first meeting held December 16, 1865. While there was some thought of converting into a baseball club due to a lack of a permanent facility, its first cricket match was held in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, May 19, 1866. From 1873 to 1892, the club occupied grounds in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, before moving to its present grounds in Haverford. The first tennis match was held in 1881; the first golf course was laid out in 1896, with other courses in 1912 and 1914.

Facilities

The fourth clubhouse (1892), backing onto Montgomery Avenue, was destroyed by fire in January 1896.

The first clubhouse (1865–73) was an existing house in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, on land owned by Col. Owen Jones. The second (1873–80) was an industrial building in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, about a mile southeast of the current grounds. The third (1880–92), by Furness & Evans, on Cricket Avenue in Ardmore, was destroyed by fire in 1892. The fourth (1892–96), at the present location, although backing onto Montgomery Avenue, was destroyed by fire in January 1896. The fifth (1896), backing onto Grays Lane, was destroyed by fire before its completion. The sixth (and present) clubhouse was built to the same plan as the fifth, but in stone and brick. Alexander Cassatt, a vice-president of the Pennsylvania Railroad (later PRR president), paid for the fireproof clubhouse.

On the club grounds there are indoor and outdoor tennis courts, paddle tennis courts, squash courts, a bowling alley, dining facilities and a ballroom. Seasonally, the club has Croquet and cricket events also. Many famous tennis players have visited the club, including Arthur Ashe and Björn Borg^{[citation needed]}.

Merion Golf Club

In 1896 members of the Merion Cricket Club founded the Merion Golf Club which has hosted the United States Open Championship five times. The Merion Golf Club will host the U.S. Open in 2013. In 1941, this became a separate club.^{[citation needed]}

Gallery

• 

  Henry Scattergood playing at Merion (c. 1897)

• 

  John Lester playing at Merion (c. 1897)

• 

  Small Lester playing at Merion

• 

  "The Cottage"

See also

• Philadelphia Cricket Club
• Germantown Cricket Club
• Belmont Cricket Club

External links

• Merion Cricket Club
• Merion Cricket Club at Historic American Buildings Survey [1]

References

Preceded by Germantown Cricket Club Philadelphia

Davis Cup Final Venue 1939

Succeeded by Kooyong Stadium Melbourne