Dr. Robert Walter Johnson House and Tennis Court

Dr. Robert Walter Johnson House and Tennis Court is a historic building located in Lynchburg, Virginia, that was built in 1911 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

Dr. Robert Walter Johnson (1899-1971) was a Lynchburg physician, the first minority doctor in the entire city to be granted practice rights at the Lynchburg General Hospital. In addition to his work, Dr. Johnson was a successful trainer for promising African-American tennis players. His American Foursquare style home, built in 1911, includes an adjacent tennis court on the lot next door.

A successful college athlete, Johnson used his athletic skill and personal funds to found the Junior Development Program of the American Tennis Association during the 1950s. Stressing sportsmanship and discipline, Johnson trained stars such as Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe, the first African-Americans to ever win at Wimbledon.

The house was also offered as lodging to distinguished African-Americans passing through the city, as blacks were usually denied occupancy from hotels. Guests included the famed Duke Ellington, Jackie Robinson, Lionel Hampton, and Roy Campanella.^[2]

The tennis court where Ashe and Gibson mastered their art still exists, buried beneath the grass, but salvageable according to experts. The net posts still pertrude from the once hallowed ground as a final sign of this properties finer days. Despite being on the National Register of Historic Places, the house has fallen into disrepair. Dr. Johnson's family has repeatedly denied efforts from the community and its leaders to purchase, restore, and enshrine the home.

References

External links

• Virginia African American Heritage Program
• National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form
• National Register Nomination: Dr. Robert Walter Johnson House and Tennis Court, Lynchburg photograph