Washington Park

Note: This page is for Washington Park in Brooklyn, NY; for others with the same name, click here.

Washington Park was the name of three ballparks that served as the home of the American Association and National League Brooklyn team (known variously as the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, Brooklyn Superbas and Brooklyn Dodgers) from 1885 to 1912. The team moved to Ebbets Field in 1913.

The first two Washington Parks stood on the same site, in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, NY near the Gowanus Canal and the Bay Ridge Railroad track. The ballparks were bounded by Fifth Avenue on the east, Fourth Avenue on the west, Third Street on the north, and Fifth Street on the south. The third Washington Park was erected diagonally across the street from the original facility, between Third and Fourth Avenues and First and Third Streets.

The ballparks were named after George Washington, who used the nearby Gowanus House as his headquarters during the Battle of Long Island in 1776.

All three ballparks were build out of wood. The original structure was destroyed by fire on May 23, 1889. A new facility, built in its place, hosted its first game on June 20, 1889. Following the 1890 season, the Brooklyn's National League club abandoned Washington Park for Eastern Park in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn near Jamaica Bay (Eastern Park had been occupied by Brooklyn's Players League entry in 1890). In 1898, the team returned to Red Hook to the newly constructed third Washington Park. The Dodgers left Washington Park for good when Ebbets Field opened on April 9, 1913. However, it was used by the Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League in 1914 and 1915.

Dimensions (Third Washington Park)

LF: 335'

CF: 500'

RF: 295'

Backstop: 90'

Fences: 12' (brick)

Capacity: 18,000

Occupants

Washington Park I:

Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers/Bridegrooms (American Association) 1885-1889

Note: Washington Park I was also used by the American Association's New York Metropolitans on October 8, 1887, and it hosted "neutral site" world series games played between the NL's Detroit Wolverines and AA's St. Louis Browns in 1887 and the NL's New York Giants and AA's St. Louis Browns in 1888.

Washington Park II:

Brooklyn Bridegrooms (American Association) 1889

Brooklyn Bridegrooms (National League) 1890

Washington Park III:

Brooklyn Superbas/Dodgers (National League) 1898-1912

Brooklyn Tip-Tops (Federal League) 1914-1915

Current Use

As of 1986, the clubhouse for the third Washington Park was still standing and being used as a doctor's office. The left field wall is apparently also still standing. Much of the rest of the property is now occupied by a Consolidated Edison power plant.

Further Reading

• Philip J. Lowry, Green Cathedrals Society for American Baseball Research, AG Press, Manhattan, KS, 1986, pp. 39-40.
• Keith Williams: It’s a Piece of Baseball History. But for Which Club?, in "F.Y.I.", The New York Times, March 30, 2017. [1]