November 3, 2025 • 7 mins
The game of tennis has been an integral part of Palm Springs for almost a century. Here we take a look at the "royal sport" played by the common person.
This episode of A Bert’s Eye View is brought to you by Modernism Week — your ticket to the best in midcentury and modern architecture, design, and culture, all in vibrant Palm Springs, California. Mark your calendar for October and February, when the city comes alive with tours, talks, parties, and more. Explore the full schedule at modernismweek.com.
The information presented in this podcast is for general knowledge and entertainment purposes only. All research that was done and opinions expressed are our own and not necessarily those of Modernism Week.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:06):
Hey there, and welcome to season2 of A Bird's Eye View.
My name is Bert and I'm the Buster Operations Manager for
Modernism Week in Palm Springs, CA.
I coordinate all our Double Decker bus tours during the
Modernism Week festivals in February and October, and I'm
happy to have their support for these podcasts.
I started this project to respond to questions from our
(00:28):
guests that we don't have time to answer during our tours.
I thought we would do a dozen orso stories, but the response has
been so positive that after doing 26 podcasts in season 1,
we're on to the second season. So if there's a topic you want
addressed, leave me a comment. Please tune in, click the follow
button and enjoy a bird's eye view.
(00:58):
One of my early childhood memories is accompanying my dad
to the local tennis park where he played double S with
colleagues and friends. I had brand new tennis shoes and
ran around the court picking up errant balls.
In my memory, I chased more balls than dad hit.
The red clay on the court stained my new shoes, and no
amount of scrubbing by my mom could remove the red.
(01:20):
In Palm Springs, tennis has always been more than a game.
It's been a social language, an architectural influence and a
driver of the city's identity asa desert resort.
The story of its tennis clubs traces the rise of Palm Springs
itself, from a quiet village at the foot of the San Jacinto
Mountains to a glamorous escape where celebrities rallied under
(01:41):
bright winter skies and sunbathers lined the fence to
watch. The first legitimate tennis
court in Palm Springs was at theEl Mirador Hotel, which
positioned the sport of tennis as part of a curated Wellness
experience. The hotel opened its doors on
New Year's Eve in 1927, and tennis in Palm Springs was born.
(02:02):
The courts were simple, hard packed surfaces, low bleachers,
shade from a few palms, but theyestablished a rhythm.
Play early, lounge late, dress well and make friends while you
rally. Legend has it that movie stars
Ralph Bellamy and Charlie Farrell monopolized the courts
at the El Murdoor to the extent that they were asked to stay
(02:24):
away. Ralph and Charlie bought 52
acres of desert north of town. It was in the middle of nowhere
in those days and opened the Racket Club on Christmas Day in
1933 with the Rackets Club 2 courts.
The number of tennis courts in Palm Springs doubled, of course.
There was no comparison between the classy Illinois Mirador,
(02:44):
with its fine restaurants, and the humble Racquet Club, where
there was a flimsy shack for a bathroom and a shaded corner
where Charlie would make you a hamburger on a hot plate if you
got hungry. For a dollar a day, players
could keep a ball in motion all day, and they did.
At the end of the first day, Bellamy and Ferrell had $18.00
in their pockets. The Racquet Club was a success,
(03:08):
and Charlie and Ralph's actor friends came out to Palm
Springs. The club fused sport and society
lessons in the morning, challenged ladders in the
afternoon, cocktails by the poolat dusk.
Photographers followed the stars, and soon images of
volleys and sunsplashed terraceswere circulating in magazines.
Selling an idea of Palm Springs as a place where the good life
(03:31):
was lived in tennis whites, the Racquet Club created a template
for what a Palm Springs club could be Athletic, stylish,
intimate and just exclusive enough to feel special.
In 1937, pioneer and local developer Pearl McManus built
the Palm Springs Tennis Club, tucked into what would later
(03:51):
become the Tennis Club neighborhood.
Shielded from wind and framed bysteep granite, it cultivated A
quieter members first atmospherewith a reputation for well kept
courts and exacting standards ofplay.
In Palm Springs, clubs didn't hide from the landscape, they
choreographed it. Courts were laid out to capture
(04:14):
morning light and mountain views, while surrounding low
slung clubhouses and gardens used stucco, stone and shade
structures to soften the desert glare.
The architecture of mid century leisure, breeze block, broad
eaves and indoor outdoor rooms thrived around tennis because
the sport demanded the same blend of openness and shelter as
(04:36):
Palm Springs living itself. By the 1960s and 70's, the
national tennis boom was in fullswing and the Coachella Valley
felt it intensely. New resorts and country clubs
across the valley added banks ofcourts and teaching pros within
the city limits. Established clubs, refreshed
facilities, hosted exhibitions and leaned into instruction for
(04:59):
every level from kids clinics toseniors.
Double S Tennis fashion and design evolved alongside
brighter color palettes, lightweight materials and glass
walled lounges that visually stitched together courts, pools
and dining terraces. Clubs function as both athletic
hubs and social registries, chronicling who was in town, who
(05:23):
was playing well, and where the best opera tennis scene was that
week. Even when high level
professional tournaments gravitated to larger venues
elsewhere in the Valley, Palm Springs proper kept its focus on
the club experience. Intimate, beautifully maintained
and woven into everyday life. Today the Racquet Club is a
(05:45):
forgotten relic. Surrounded by construction
fencing on busy Indian Canyon. The courts of the El Mirador are
parking lots for Desert RegionalHospital courts, and city parks
are no longer used for tennis but a newer sport, pickleball.
The Riviera Hotel courts next toSonny Bono's former restaurants
are now condominiums, as is the site of his restaurant.
(06:09):
Only Pearl's Tennis Club endureson Baristo Road.
Tennis has moved out of Palm Springs down valley.
The Indian Wells Tennis Garden is the second largest tennis
stadium in the world, capable ofseating more than 16,000
spectators. It's high tech polymer surface
does not stain anyone's tennis shoes.
(06:31):
In the end, the history of tennis clubs in Palm Springs
reads like a civic biography. The clubs served as stages where
residents and visitors enacted aparticular vision of desert
life, active, elegant, sociable and outdoors.
To pick up a racket here is to join that lineage, tracing lines
between eras with every rally, the mountains standing as
(06:54):
Sentinels as they always have, and the ball sounding its
precise thwack, familiar punctuation against the morning
air. Support for a bird's eye view
comes from Modernism Week, celebrating global modernism and
Palm Springs design each Octoberand February.
Learn more at modernismweek com.
Hey there, and welcome to season2 of A Bird's Eye View.
My name is Bert and I'm the Buster Operations Manager for
Modernism Week in Palm Springs, CA.
I coordinate all our Double Decker bus tours during the
Modernism Week festivals in February and October, and I'm
happy to have their support for these podcasts.
I started this project to respond to questions from our
(00:28):
guests that we don't have time to answer during our tours.
I thought we would do a dozen orso stories, but the response has
been so positive that after doing 26 podcasts in season 1,
we're on to the second season. So if there's a topic you want
addressed, leave me a comment. Please tune in, click the follow
button and enjoy a bird's eye view.
(00:58):
One of my early childhood memories is accompanying my dad
to the local tennis park where he played double S with
colleagues and friends. I had brand new tennis shoes and
ran around the court picking up errant balls.
In my memory, I chased more balls than dad hit.
The red clay on the court stained my new shoes, and no
amount of scrubbing by my mom could remove the red.
(01:20):
In Palm Springs, tennis has always been more than a game.
It's been a social language, an architectural influence and a
driver of the city's identity asa desert resort.
The story of its tennis clubs traces the rise of Palm Springs
itself, from a quiet village at the foot of the San Jacinto
Mountains to a glamorous escape where celebrities rallied under
(01:41):
bright winter skies and sunbathers lined the fence to
watch. The first legitimate tennis
court in Palm Springs was at theEl Mirador Hotel, which
positioned the sport of tennis as part of a curated Wellness
experience. The hotel opened its doors on
New Year's Eve in 1927, and tennis in Palm Springs was born.
(02:02):
The courts were simple, hard packed surfaces, low bleachers,
shade from a few palms, but theyestablished a rhythm.
Play early, lounge late, dress well and make friends while you
rally. Legend has it that movie stars
Ralph Bellamy and Charlie Farrell monopolized the courts
at the El Murdoor to the extent that they were asked to stay
(02:24):
away. Ralph and Charlie bought 52
acres of desert north of town. It was in the middle of nowhere
in those days and opened the Racket Club on Christmas Day in
1933 with the Rackets Club 2 courts.
The number of tennis courts in Palm Springs doubled, of course.
There was no comparison between the classy Illinois Mirador,
(02:44):
with its fine restaurants, and the humble Racquet Club, where
there was a flimsy shack for a bathroom and a shaded corner
where Charlie would make you a hamburger on a hot plate if you
got hungry. For a dollar a day, players
could keep a ball in motion all day, and they did.
At the end of the first day, Bellamy and Ferrell had $18.00
in their pockets. The Racquet Club was a success,
(03:08):
and Charlie and Ralph's actor friends came out to Palm
Springs. The club fused sport and society
lessons in the morning, challenged ladders in the
afternoon, cocktails by the poolat dusk.
Photographers followed the stars, and soon images of
volleys and sunsplashed terraceswere circulating in magazines.
Selling an idea of Palm Springs as a place where the good life
(03:31):
was lived in tennis whites, the Racquet Club created a template
for what a Palm Springs club could be Athletic, stylish,
intimate and just exclusive enough to feel special.
In 1937, pioneer and local developer Pearl McManus built
the Palm Springs Tennis Club, tucked into what would later
(03:51):
become the Tennis Club neighborhood.
Shielded from wind and framed bysteep granite, it cultivated A
quieter members first atmospherewith a reputation for well kept
courts and exacting standards ofplay.
In Palm Springs, clubs didn't hide from the landscape, they
choreographed it. Courts were laid out to capture
(04:14):
morning light and mountain views, while surrounding low
slung clubhouses and gardens used stucco, stone and shade
structures to soften the desert glare.
The architecture of mid century leisure, breeze block, broad
eaves and indoor outdoor rooms thrived around tennis because
the sport demanded the same blend of openness and shelter as
(04:36):
Palm Springs living itself. By the 1960s and 70's, the
national tennis boom was in fullswing and the Coachella Valley
felt it intensely. New resorts and country clubs
across the valley added banks ofcourts and teaching pros within
the city limits. Established clubs, refreshed
facilities, hosted exhibitions and leaned into instruction for
(04:59):
every level from kids clinics toseniors.
Double S Tennis fashion and design evolved alongside
brighter color palettes, lightweight materials and glass
walled lounges that visually stitched together courts, pools
and dining terraces. Clubs function as both athletic
hubs and social registries, chronicling who was in town, who
(05:23):
was playing well, and where the best opera tennis scene was that
week. Even when high level
professional tournaments gravitated to larger venues
elsewhere in the Valley, Palm Springs proper kept its focus on
the club experience. Intimate, beautifully maintained
and woven into everyday life. Today the Racquet Club is a
(05:45):
forgotten relic. Surrounded by construction
fencing on busy Indian Canyon. The courts of the El Mirador are
parking lots for Desert RegionalHospital courts, and city parks
are no longer used for tennis but a newer sport, pickleball.
The Riviera Hotel courts next toSonny Bono's former restaurants
are now condominiums, as is the site of his restaurant.
(06:09):
Only Pearl's Tennis Club endureson Baristo Road.
Tennis has moved out of Palm Springs down valley.
The Indian Wells Tennis Garden is the second largest tennis
stadium in the world, capable ofseating more than 16,000
spectators. It's high tech polymer surface
does not stain anyone's tennis shoes.
(06:31):
In the end, the history of tennis clubs in Palm Springs
reads like a civic biography. The clubs served as stages where
residents and visitors enacted aparticular vision of desert
life, active, elegant, sociable and outdoors.
To pick up a racket here is to join that lineage, tracing lines
between eras with every rally, the mountains standing as
(06:54):
Sentinels as they always have, and the ball sounding its
precise thwack, familiar punctuation against the morning
air. Support for a bird's eye view
comes from Modernism Week, celebrating global modernism and
Palm Springs design each Octoberand February.
Learn more at modernismweek com.
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