Have a Look at Gowanus, Washington Park Remnants Included

[Photo courtesy of Yanksfan v. Soxfan]

The blog Yanksfan vs. Soxfan is an unexpected place to find a long and interesting post about Gowanus, nonetheless they posted one yesterday. It's actually about "New York's Oldest Extant Ballpark," which is Washington Park, one of whose walls still exists on Third Avenue. We'll let them explain:

Extant is actually a stretch. The retaining wall pictured above is the last standing vestige of Washington Park, home to the NL's Brooklyn franchise from 1898 to 1913. That wall, which now encloses a Con-Ed facility, runs along Third avanue between Third and Fourth streets in Gowanus, an amorphous industrial neigborhood sandwiched between Park Slope and Carroll Gardens. The ballpark that once occupied the site was a lovely affair, with a covered grandstand and seating for nearly 20,000. A previous Washington Park, just a block away, had been home to that same Brooklyn team in its earlier affiliations...the boys were occssionally referred to as "Gowanucians." Fans came from the surrounding neigborhoods, the area was known generally as "South Brooklyn" back then, and from Manhattan, an easy commute across the then-new Brooklyn Bridge.

Click over to the full post as it's got some nice shots of our favorite neighborhood.

Related Post:
Rays of Light and Hope for Gowanucians