Ridley Park Athletic Club: Clubhouse Rentals

RIDLEY PARK ATHLETIC CLUB
PO Box 35, Ridley Park, PA 19078
(610) 532-1441

Our clubhouse is available to rent for parties, meetings or other occasions. 

If interested, please call Mandy O'Prey at 610-586-8097.

Mandy O'Prey can also be contacted at mandyo5244@hotmail.com

Athletic Club – Architectural information

The Athletic Club is an assembly building located in the Historic District on Ward Avenue, next to the Borough Hall. 

Built in 1913, and renovated in 1945 & 1985, this Colonial Revival style building has a hipped roof and full width porch.   The hipped porch roof is supported by four segmented concrete Doric style columns that rest on a concrete porch with a stone base.  The stone base is made of the same stone that wraps around the base of the entire building. On the front elevation, there are three double hung windows which alternate with two doors at the porch level. On the second floor, there are five double hung windows that line up vertically with the windows and doors on the first floor.  The exterior siding is painted pebble dash stucco over tile, which was considered to be a fire-resistant construction method at the time.  The roof was originally covered with asbestos slate, which was also selected for its fire resistance.  A small dormer with an awning window is located in the middle of the hip roof on the front and back of the building.  Newspaper articles that described the construction also mentioned hardwood floors, mission style woodwork, men’s and ladies’ lavatories, and hot water heat with radiators in each room. (Information provided by Keith Lockhart.)

Original details at the eave and fascia have been covered with a vinyl soffit and capped with aluminum.  The integral gutter along the edge of the main roof and porch roof has been retained.  The pointing on the stone base was recently redone in such a way that the joints appear to be much larger than they were originally. Original double hung windows have been replaced with newer style windows that replicated the original 6/1 pane design. 

Athletic Club – Historical Significance

The Ridley Park Athletic Club was originally constructed to be the Ridley Park Social Club. There were separate rooms for ladies and men to socialize.  There was a bowling alley in the basement, and the men’s social rooms were furnished with billiard tables.  It was built in 1913, renovated in 1945.  Repairs such as repair to the stone pointing, concrete porch deck, stucco, porch columns and gutter and downspouts was done in 2002-03.  In his book “The History of Ridley Park”, Keith Lockhart mentions that “The boys club later became the Ridley Park Athletic club and completely renovated the old fireman’s club house as their own building.  The building was dedicated in May 1986.”

Although this building does not serve the community as a historic architectural resource, its significance in the community lies more in the fact that it has served the community in its use as a Social Club, and the Athletic Club.