The Printing House Fitness & Squash Club

The building that housed the club was built in 1911, and originally used by printing companies. It was converted to residential apartments in 1975, and offered racquetball, American squash courts and a fitness center. In the mid/late 1990s the 20’ American courts were converted to 5 International 21’ softball squash courts. The club became an important part of the shift from the American style hardball court to international softball courts. Although the club had a vibrant and very convivial membership it closed in 2011, after the building’s new ownership leased out the space and the courts were taken down. The Club’s legacy lives on in the form of Open Squash, founded by former Printing House members.

In the words of former members and staff…

The building known as The Printing House was built in 1911, and used by printing companies until the early 1970s. It was converted into residential apartments in 1975. The street level had six racquetball and four American squash courts, with a fitness center on the 9th floor. Sometime in the mid/late 1990s I contacted Gordie Anderson, got court cost estimates, asked members if they would approve of an increase of our monthly fees by $20 for new 21’ courts, which they did, & then sold the idea to Winthrop Chamberlin, the club & building owner. The infrequently used racquetball courts were soon removed and replaced with a yoga/dance studio, while the 20’ American courts were converted to 5 International 21’ softball squash courts, which were rapidly replacing American hardball everywhere. 

In 2008 Patrick Foster of the Bermuda Squash Racquets Assoc began hosting the first of many Round Robin Bermuda Squash Challenge Tournaments between Bermuda, New York, and Boston – 6 of the 8 players who went to Bermuda from the US were from the Printing House - the first of many annual challenges that club members went to Bermuda for, making us an even closer group of players/friends.

In 2011 Equinox leased the space from the new building owners, & removed and replaced the squash courts with more “fitness” equipment. In 2012 a small group of us, headed by David Ellen, felt we needed to find a place where we could start a new club, then called The Squash Center, based on the concept of a Community Facility (a not-for profit squash club aimed at expanding squash to the general public). After many attempts at various sites, The Manhattan Community Squash Center was born in 2018 on W.39th Street, which then morphed and grew into 3 sites, now known as Open Squash.  There are many “one of a kind” squash clubs/centers in the City, but few were/are as unique, personal, and friendly as was The Printing House Squash Club.
—David Puchkoff

Printing House was pivotal in the modern history of New York City squash because it was at the forefront of the most significant change in the game -- the progression from the American style hardball court to the English court. The different ball and the wider court were significant. You had to be in better condition, and you needed to use all four corners of the court. In a word, it went from a power game to a finesse game. 

PH was a wonderful place to play, and when the conversion to English style softball occurred on all of our five courts, it became even better. I still have the t-shirts from all the club tournaments at the turn of the century, and I proudly wear them when I play fun games with my fellow squash opponents, almost all of whom are younger than me. People still comment on the very cool designs of the shirts….
—Doug Garr

Arriving in New York in September I was very lucky to find a job as a squash coach at the Printing House. Very soon it occurred to me this was a mixed bag of people from all parts of life. I met some amazing people while teaching at the Printing House. Three of my students basically handed me these wonderful apartments in the West Village, which is where I wanted to live. There was always a great spirit of camaraderie at the squash courts yet also at the same time a very competitive group of players at all levels. I am still in contact with several of my former students 33 years later. A truly special squash club…..Anders Wahlstedt

I started playing squash in my late 20s when a ski buddy turned me on to the game. 30 years later, having played in Paris and now Lisbonne, one club, of all the clubs, still stands out: 'The Printing House'. To this day, it is still my favorite club despite not having a bar, like my club in Paris or palm trees like the one here in Lisbonne. Just a great group of people, a ladder and training sessions. I am still in touch with many of the friends I made there despite them being dispersed to the four corners of the earth. Those courts also happen to be where I met my lovely wife. The Printing House helped cement my squash addiction and we all died a little inside the day those courts were ripped out. Miss that place, but gotta go, I am late for a game….
—Didier Faur

In 1988, through a college newsletter, I heard that an alum, Win Chamberlain, opened a squash club & gym a mere 10 blocks from home. I joined and became part of a vibrant community who still stays in touch 35 years later. At first, there were 4 or 5 American courts on the windowed East side of the club. Eventually (by 1995?), we had 5 state-of-the-art courts and made the switch to softball singles, a more nuanced game than hardball. Many members of other clubs decided to join the Printing House, despite the distance from their home or office, having seen how beautiful the facilities were and how welcoming the community. The players were a more diverse group than one would expect for a “preppy” sport: artists, writers, publishers, musicians, as well as business people, reflecting the neighborhood at the time. Some of the A & B level players started a Bermuda-New England-New York tournament, and we hosted a few times and traveled to their venues, too. Splashing in the azure sea after hard-fought matches was a particular treat at the Bermuda tournaments. Players frequently went out to dinner (many a sushi meal after women’s matches) or drinks (Blind Tiger on Bleecker St.)  We were bereft when Equinox could not find a way to preserve the courts when they bought the club. But we stayed in touch, as Anders Wahlstedt noted, and continue to see many former members in the neighborhood and at other squash clubs & events….
—Kathy Mintz

In the late ’90’s-Early 2000’s, I worked as a teaching pro at the Printing House (along with Sean, Brett and with Chris Windey at the helm). It truly was like a family. I used to run the Monday night beginner’s clinic. From 8:00-10:00, people could walk in off the street, pay $10, pick up a racket and a ball, receive about 15 minutes of coaching and they'd spend the rest of the time batting the ball around. By the end of the two hours, they were drenched in sweat, laughing, butts were surely aching and almost definitely hooked for life. We’d all go to the Blind Tiger afterwards to drink our body weight in Hedeweizen and talk squash. I know several couples who met on the courts at the Printing House...at least one or two have gotten married. There was something special about that place—it attracted an eccentric crew: from Village artists, to doctors, to top players. To this day, it’s been the strongest squash community I've been a part of. For Printing Housers, it wasn’t just a place to get a good game in, but a home away from home. I will always treasure the memories….
—Lissa Hunsicker Kenney

I joined the Printing House around 1996.  At the time we played on hardball courts and a couple of converted racquetball courts.  We introduced some Beginner and Social Round-Robins along with a Sunday Afternoon Training Series and the response was incredible.  So much so that, after a couple of years, the club converted all of the racquetball courts to regulation-sized, softball squash courts.

Then things really got crazy.  Round-Robins and drills continued to flourish, league play expanded and we were asked (by the then MSRA) to host the Big Apple Open and The New York Open, two of the cities' largest tournaments.

It was meaningful in that I remember it as a time when lots of very genuine, passionate squash players got together to work hard on their games.  Players improved, friendships were made, beers were consumed, romances happened, and more than one Round-Robin pairing led to marriage.  One of the best compliments the Printing House ever received was from an "A" player visiting from The Bay Club in San Francisco.  He showed up on a Sunday afternoon for drills and afterward, exhausted but smiling, said, "I'd heard about this in San Francisco.  But I had no idea it was this great!  You guys really have a very special group here."
—Chris Widney

WEEKEND WARRIOR; No Rest (Thwack!) for Mind or Body
—Joe Glickman, New York Times, February 5, 1999