Conceived by James Van Alen, inventor of the tennis tiebreaker and additional scoring systems, the International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum in Newport, Rhode Island, is home to the world’s largest collection of tennis memorabilia and features the world’s oldest competition grass courts. Housed in the historic Victorian shingle-style design of the Newport Casino built in 1880, the International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum was officially opened in 1954.
Museum staff launched a Match Point Campaign to add new facilities, improve campus-wide amenities and create a modern interactive museum. The Museum wished to reinterpret their collections and galleries focusing on the addition of interactive technology and displaying artifacts that had previously been in storage. 1220 Exhibits of Nashville, Tennessee, was called upon to fabricate exhibit components sharing the re-imagined story and history of tennis.
To house over 2,000 artifacts, 1220 custom fabricated thirty-seven performance built-in and free standing cases. 1220’s Artifact Specialist, Doug Zellman, fabricated custom mounts and took three and a half weeks to personally install with an assistant. A visitor will be able to view outfits worn by players from the 1800’s to present-day, including Roger Federer’s 2007 Wimbledon racquet and Monica Seles’ 1991 US Open Women’s Singles Championship Trophy.
The renovation of the Museum offers updated interactive technology and AV programming bringing visitors closer to their favorite stars and historic tournament sites. A touchscreen globe allows visitors to explore tournament sites around the world providing the viewer scores and data. 1220 was responsible for coordinating with Cortina Productions on globe projection equipment requirements. For the hologram of Roger Federer, 1220 provided and integrated the AV hardware and programmed the lighting and control system.
Due to the historic nature of the building, access to the exhibit spaces were constricted by architectural details such as narrow door openings and lack of a freight elevator. 1220 engineered exhibit components to effectively reassemble and offloaded into the building through an upper story window access utilizing a boom lift. The International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum will host their Grand Re-Opening Ceremony on May 19-20th.
With over 100,000 square feet of production facility in Nashville, TN, 1220 provides breakthrough solutions for the fabrication and installation of exhibits, events, and experiences. Past clients range from history museums and nature centers, to sports and music halls of fame. For more information on how 1220 can make your vision a reality, contact 1-800-333-1220 or visit www.1220.com.
