Bitsy Grant's classic beauty restored

Atlanta tennis legend Bitsy Grant would feel at home at the Buckhead architectural jewel bearing his name.

Restored to its 1950s glory, the  Tennis Center clubhouse presents a feast of midcentury style. While preserving classic touches, the clubhouse renovation has brought the structure up to date, with remodeled men’s and women bathrooms, enhanced retail space and a contemporary kitchen and entertainment area. The structure’s air conditioning, ventilation and heating system has been modernized, and a vintage rooftop structure restored.

“It’s going to be always cold in the summer and warm in the winter,” supervising architect Allie Cochran said with a smile.

The $1.3 million renovation, funded with money raised by the Friends of Bitsy Grant along with a $540,000 donation from the city, will make its debut July 31 at the 94th American Tennis Association (ATA) National Championships. In conjunction with the tournament, in which 1,000 players will compete across the city, with Bitsy as the headquarters site, a clubhouse ribbon-cutting and opening ceremony will be held at 12:30 p.m. July 31.

The next week, Bitsy Grant will host the the third-annual Georgia State Adult/Senior Open Tennis Championship, Aug. 6-9.

The clubhouse, built in 1952, was designed by noted Atlanta architect Richard Aeck. The building's renovation has been carried out by Aeck’s successor firm, Lord, Aeck & Sargent, of which Richard Aeck's son, Tony, is a principal. R.J. Griffin Project Solutions, a division of R.J. Griffin Corp., was the contractor for the work, which began in December. The project was to be completed Friday.

Cochran, of Lord, Aeck & Sargent, says that the midcentury modern jewel is “one of the few left in Atlanta” of that type of architecture. In overseeing the renovation, she consulted original plans.

During the renovation, workers saved whatever features they could from the old building. Large light fixtures at the building’s upper level are original, Cochran said. The original paint colors of the windows, columns and ceilings have been used.

“This is preservation work,” Cochran said. “We go back to what was originally there.”

New furnishings, such as most of the furniture, matches 1950s styles, she said. Some notable pieces, such as a stained wooden bench, remain from the old building.

A photo gallery showing tennis legends who’ve played at Bitsy has been moved to the lower level of the structure. Fund-raising consultant Barbara Howell of Buckhead said the photos have been digitally restored.

In its heyday, Bitsy Grant, named for the diminutive Atlanta player who won U.S. championships, played host to a number of national tournaments. Famed African-American champion Arthur Ashe was among players who graced Bitsy’s courts.

The clubhouse renovation is the last phase of a three-year, three-part project in which the center’s famed 13 clay courts and a parking lot were also restored. The softer clay courts are especially valued by older players and those with physical problems.

“To have very good clay courts at a public facility is very rare,” said Greg Mauldin, president of the Friend of Bitsy Grant and an attorney at Alston & Bird.

Mauldin, who has two young sons he’s introducing to tennis and who lives close to Bitsy, said he got involved because he wanted a kid-friendly place for his children. While the Friends want to restore Bitsy as a regional and national tennis shrine for tournaments, he values the community feel, he said.

“To have a really first class tennis facility with those clay courts right in your neighborhood is truly a special thing,” he said.

He’s says more than 500 people donated to the renovation project, the majority of them in the city of Atlanta.

Another signature feature of the renovation is a stunning portrait of Bitsy Grant in action, beckoning from the past. Now new generations of tennis players will know the full magic of the place he called home.

See Buckhead Patch Sunday for more on the American Tennis Association and Georgia State Adult/Senior Open Tennis Championship tournaments.