Washington Park (Los Angeles)

File:LAWashingtonParkca1920.JPG

Washington Park ca1917

Washington Park was a baseball park in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was primarily used for baseball and was the home of the Los Angeles Angels from 1912 until they moved to Wrigley Field late in the 1925 season.

Prior to 1912, the Angels had played at a ballfield next to Chutes Park, a city amusement park. The new Washington Park, located at Washington and Hill Streets in South Los Angeles, was just a short distance from Chutes Park.

The Venice PCL entry of 1913-14 also played its home games at Washington Park, except for Sunday morning and special holiday games.

A football game between USC and California on November 25, 1915 drew 8,000 spectators, the largest crowd to have seen a football game in southern California at that time.

The sources say that William Wrigley, Jr., owner of the Angels was rebuffed in his request to build an underground parking garage beneath the ballpark. He then decided to build a new ballpark, which was named Wrigley Field and opened in 1925 at 42nd Street and Avalon Boulevard.

The park was demolished in the Mid-1950s. The site is now occupied by a multi-story shopping center called LA Mart, and parking lots.

Washington Park, c. 1911. Chutes Park water slide and building are visible beyond right field.

Washington Park, c. 1911. Chutes Park water slide and building are visible beyond right field.

Sources

• Take Me Out to the Ball Park, Lowell Reidenbaugh, The Sporting News, 1983 & 1987, p. 138-142
• Ballparks of North America, Michael Benson, McFarland, 1989, p. 209