History
The building started as the Singer Bowl, a temporary-looking arena built for the 1964 World's Fair in Flushing Meadows. After the fair the city's Parks Department used it for concerts, including 1968 shows by the Doors and Jimi Hendrix, and for boxing. In 1973 it was renamed for Louis Armstrong, who had lived in nearby Corona.
When the USTA moved the US Open from Forest Hills, it rebuilt the bowl into a tennis stadium with an attached Grandstand, and the championships were first played there in 1978. For almost two decades it was the main stage of the Open.
Arthur Ashe Stadium replaced it as the main court in 1997, and Armstrong was cut down to about 10,200 seats. It closed after the 2016 Open and was demolished that October, and a new Louis Armstrong Stadium with a retractable roof was built on the same footprint for 2018.
Why it matters: It was the first main stadium of the US Open at Flushing Meadows and a surviving piece of the 1964 World's Fair.
Timeline
- 1964
The Singer company built the arena for the 1964 New York World's Fair.
- 1973
The city-run stadium was renamed for jazz great and Corona resident Louis Armstrong.
- 1978
After a 1977 rebuild, the US Open moved from Forest Hills, and the stadium and adjoining Grandstand opened as its main courts.
- 1997Becomes No. 2 court[1]
Arthur Ashe Stadium took over as the main court, and Armstrong was reduced to 10,200 seats.
- September 8, 2016Final US Open[3]
Fans said goodbye during the 2016 tournament, the stadium's last.
- October 2016
The stadium and Grandstand were torn down as part of the tennis center's redevelopment.
The site today
| Physical status | Site redeveloped[1,2,3] |
|---|---|
| Current use | Site of the new Louis Armstrong Stadium (opened 2018), built on the old footprint[3] |
| Built on the site | Louis Armstrong Stadium (New 14,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof, built on the original footprint; opened for the 2018 US Open) |
| Mapped location | Former venue site |
Street View near the former site · Satellite view (external, current imagery)
Venue facts
| Official name | Louis Armstrong Stadium |
|---|---|
| Other names | Singer Bowl (1964–1973); Louis Armstrong Memorial Stadium (1973–1977); Louis Armstrong Stadium |
| Location | USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, New York (Flushing, Queens), New York |
| Venue type | Tennis stadium |
| Sports | Tennis |
| Level | Grand Slam (US Open) |
| Opened | 1978[1,2,3] |
| Last used for sports | 2016[1,3] |
| Demolished | October 2016[1,2,3] |
| Physical status | Site redeveloped |
| Original capacity | 18,000[1] |
| Final capacity | 10,200[1] |
| Capacity notes | Peak of about 18,000 as the US Open's main court; reduced to 10,200 in a 1997 reconfiguration. The attached Grandstand held about 6,000. |
| Architect | Eggers & Higgins (original Singer Bowl, 1964)[2] |
| Surface | DecoTurf (hard court) |
| Owner / operator | United States Tennis Association |
| Closure | Replaced as part of the USTA's redevelopment of the National Tennis Center by a new roofed stadium of the same name. |
Documented details
- The Doors headlined the New York Rock Festival at the Singer Bowl in August 1968, with the Who opening.[2]
Connected venues
Sources
- Louis Armstrong Stadium (1978-2016), Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: capacity, closed, coordinates, demolished, opened, teams
- Singer Bowl, Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: architect, demolished, opened
- US Open Tennis Fans Bid Fond Farewell to Louis Armstrong Stadium, NY1 (Spectrum News). Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: closed, current land use, demolished, opened
Research confidence
Key facts on this page (opening, closing, status and location) are each supported by sources, with key dates corroborated by at least two independent sources. Last reviewed 2026-10-19.
Where sources disagree (2)
- Renaming year: 1973 (Wikipedia) vs 1972 (NY1).
- Wikipedia's 1978-2016 article lists Rossetti Architects as architect (Rossetti designed the new stadium); the original bowl is credited to Eggers & Higgins. The 1977-78 conversion architect was not confirmed.
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