Washington Park (Indianapolis)

Washington Park, also known as Washington Baseball Park, was a name given to two ballparks located in Indianapolis, IN.

The first Washington Park was built in 1900 at the corner of East Washington Street and Gray Street and originally served as the home of the Indianapolis Hoosiers of the minor league American League that year and of the Western League the following season. In 1902, they were replaced by the Indianapolis Indians of the American Association. The ballpark was a temporary one made entirely of wood.

In 1905, the second Washington Park was on West Washington Street and opened in 1905, also as a rudimentary structure made entirely of wood. It served as the home of the Indians for the next two and a half decade, undergoing a thorough reconstruction in 1909 when its seating capacity went from 4,000 to 20,000. The Indianapolis ABCs of the Negro National League also used the ballpark as their home grounds from 1920 to 1926. During that period, only the Hoosiers of the Federal League in 1913-1914 used their own park, Federal League Park, among teams based in Indianapolis.

On June 9, 1930 the ballpark hosted the first night game in the history of the American Association - a full five years before the first such game was played in the National League. However, it was already on its last gasps during that season, as dismantlement began in 1931, at the same time as Perry Stadium was being built. The last game here was played on August 19th and the new ballpark opened that September. The light towers from Washington Park were moved to the new facility after the season.

The land the ballpark occupied is now part of the Indianapolis Zoo.