Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-13
TO BUILD TENNIS
COURTS IN PARKS
MAYOR ALEXANDER FAV0RS
PROPOSED IMPROVEMENT
COST OF MAINTENANCE WOULD
BE EXTREMELY SLIGHT
Los Angeles to Step In Line with
Other Cities by Installing Public
courts-Many Approve
Plan

A movement is now on foot to estab-
lish public tennis courts in the city
parks of Los Angeles.
The public parks of nearly every
large city of the United States are
fitted with modern appliances for the
general amusement and recreation OF
the great sport loving American public.
Chief among the facilities provided by
the different boards of park commits
sioners throughout the country for the
amusement of those who are not IA
vored by private grounds are the public
tennis courts. In every city from the
Golden Gate to Marthas Vineyard
having a population of over 100000
persons and in many cities the total
number of whose inhabitants Will not
reach half this sum there are public
courts, cement, asphalt, gravel or
merely lawn courts where any one may
go and by providing their own rae
quets and balls play one of the most
picturesque and healthful of outdoor
games without charge.
No Courts in Angel City
In Los Angeles, with the exception
of those recently installed on the public
Fairgrounds, there is not tennis court
for the use Of the public. And in order
that city so modern and so thorough
cluding broad streets, modern stores,
an efficient lighting system. network
of electric railways than which there
is none better, and a capable city gov
ernment, may not be lacking in any Of
the lesser details, the Southern Cali
fornia Lawn Tennis association, aided
by Mayor Alexander and the board OF
park commissioners, will make every
effort to install public tennis courts i'll
pxrpY.Ir Ta rl< of the Angel citV.
AS an illustration of what public ten
mis- courts mean to the larger cities OF
the country it may be said that the
park commissioners who control Lin
coin park in the city of Chicago re-
Gently found ii necessary to not only
double the number of courts in the
Windy city, of which there were al
ready large number, but to decrease
the time limit from four to two hours.
This was done in order to accommodate
larger number of players, and at the
present time the number of courts is
not sufficient to meet the popular de-
mand. The cost of maintaining these
courts for the year 1908 was $500, not
a vast amount when the pleasure and
exercise afforded to thousands of per-
sons is taken into consideration.
Alexander Approves
Mayor Alexander regarding the in
stallation of courts in the various pub
lie parks Of Los Angeles said yester-
day:
Il heartily approve of your plan to
install a series of courts and will lend
my efforts in it's behalf. Although We
are at present greatly handicapped by
a lack of funds, it is more than likely
that before the end Of the present year
several public courts will be installed
in the local parks. At present we are
making plans for building modern
courts in Sycamore grove, and these
will soon be followed by Others IN
South Eastlake and Westlake parks. l
am sure that these would prove a
profitable investment for Los Angeles
and would help to advertise our city"
Inquiries as to the location of the Los
Angeles courts are being daily received
from tourists at the sporting goods
houses, and surprise is invariably eX-
pressed when the inquirer Is informed
that the largest city of Southern Cali
fornia boasts no such public convent
ence. Some of the finest tennis court
grounds in the United States are locat-
ed in Golden Gate park, San Francisco,
and so great is the demand for the
same that manY more will probably be
added within the immediate future.
Modern cement courts, backstops and
all, would not cost to exceed $275
apiece Willie lIlb tOSl VI maintaining
them would be very slight
Way Is in Field
A. c. Way president of the Southern
California Lawn Tennis association,
has long desired the proposed improve
ment and is making active preparations
to bring the same about. Every tennis
player of Southern California is also N
hearty sympathy with the movement,
and already many schemes have been
suggested for raising sufficient funds in
order that the courts may be immedl-
ately built.
Judging by the course which Los
Angeles has taken regarding other mu-
nicipal improvements, it is but a ques
tion Of time before every park IS
equipped with one or more public ten
mis- courts. The proposed improvement
is directly in line with yesterdays vote
on consolidation, the owens river
project and every other issue which
the citizens of Los Angeles have IA
vored within the past few years.
Backed by Mayor Alexander. the entire
board of park commissioners and en-
joying the support of every lover of
outdoor sports in Southern California,
there appears to be no chance that a
measure which tends to broaden the
sphere of the influence of outdoor
America can be defeated.