Nomination for League Park

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Form No. 10-300 REV. (9/77) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOW TO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS TYPE ALL ENTRIES -- COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECTIONS AND/OR COMMON STREET & NUMBER NOT FOR PUBLICATION CITY, TOWN CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Cleveland, Ohio - VICINITY OF PRESENT USE -UNOCCUPIED X.BUILDING(S) -WORK IN PROGRESS _PRIVATE RESIDENCE SITE PUBLIC ACQUISITION OBJECT _IN PROCESS *YES: UNRESTRICTED GOVERNMENT X.oTHER neighbor- OWNER OF PROPERTY NAME City of Cleveland 601 Lakeside, N.E.

LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION 1 Lakeside Avenue REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS DEPOSITORY FOR 035 1976 039 BOTH DATE LOCATION COUNTY AGRICULTURE Cuyahoga CODE MUSEUM OWNERSHIP Columbus STATE CATEGORY ACCESSIBLE ENTERTAINMENT PARK EDUCATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION 20th DISTRICT MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COURTHOUSE, RELIGIOUS STATUS NAME XSTRUCTURE Ohio Historic Inventory AUG DATE ENTERED Ohio HISTORIC League Park _TRANSPORTATION _BEING CONSIDERED League Park Center hood center -COMMERCIAL Corner of Lexington and 66th Streets PRIVATE _PUBLIC FOR NPS USE ONLY XYES: UNRESTRICTED REGISTRY OF DEEDS,ETC. _FEDERAL XSTATE _COUNTY _LOCAL Cuyahoga County Courthouse TITLE SURVEY RECORDS Ohio Historic Preservation Office RECEIVED JUN 27 1979 7 DESCRIPTION X DETERIORATED X_ORIGINAL SITE XALTERED _MOVED DATE. DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Description of the property

CONDITION EXCELLENT FAIR CHECK ONE tangular projections above the peak which are reminiscent of chimneys. The ironwork has been removed and the area between the posts enclosed.The second floor roof.The first story originally consisted of four isolated concrete posts with iron gates double-tiered grandstand stadium that flanked two sides of the baseball diamond.The company office building.

the result of severe weathering and rusting of the reinforcing rods.There is a brick The office building is a two-story concrete and brick structure with shingle covered gable facing on the outside rear of the stands which features sawtooth arches and pilasters located beneath the stands and portions of these interior walls have large holes probably and also have corbeling beneath the stone capped parapet gable.There are slight rec- The office building is currently used as a neighborhood center and the site of the ball- outfield was surrounded by a tall fence and along with the office building in one corner, and topped by a cut stone cap. The latter wall continues along the edge of the sidewall and connects with the baseball the windows are set.

the whole complex occupied most of a city block.Except for the one tier of bleachers, The stands which remain are of reinforced concrete and were originally a 1oo foot segment _UNEXPOSED park is divided into several small diamonds anda swimming area. -UNALTERED which initially held the actual company offices, has a blind rounded arcade into which of the lower tier of the stadium.Vacant and vandalized locker and shower rooms are all of the stadium has been demolished and a swimming pool and bathhouse has been The ends of the building are a duplication of the facade project slightly from the wall. constructed in one corner of the former outfield. story wall to a single tier of stands.The stands were originally a part of a larger -RUINS AREAS OF

Statement of significance

actions was to hire a strong farmboy from Canton, Ohio named Denton Young, later to 1600-1699 ART INVENTION COMMERCE ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC LAW ECONOMICS THEATER PERIOD ARCHITECTURE TRANSPORTATION SIGNIFICANCE MILITARY player. INDUSTRY _PREHISTORIC _POLITICS/GOVERNMENT leagues in existance. _COMMUNICATIONS certain businessmen in Cleveland for assistance in financing a new team in their city. _EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT AGRICULTURE _1800-1899 The Cleveland Blues shortly became the Bronchos and once again attracted first-rate play- The League Park Center occupies a significant place in Cleveland and the nation's Charles Somers, a Cleveland coal merchant, responded and helped create the new Cleve- of funding for Johnson's entire league, rivaling the already existing National League.

_1700-1799 _1400-1499 during the 1870s and 1880s, and shifted between the several professional baseball _ENGINEERING to the Park with a stop only 20 feet from the main gate.The original structure was a simple green wooden pavilion and grandstand. Professional baseball began in Cleveland in 1869 when the Forest Citys left their Ban Johnson was, at this time, organizing the American Baseball League and approached the last remaining segment of a large double-tiered ball park where a number of base- Cleveland team fell on hard times again, and wag transferred to St.Louis in 1899.

After winning the Temple Cup Series in 1895, the forerunner of the World Series, the X1900- a second baseman.Lajoie was described in 1907 as "the king of ball players," and _1500-1599 the club'soffices from its construction in 1908 until the late 1940s.The Center is - RELIGION ball immortalsplayed during the first half of the 20th century. League Park on one of his lines in 189l. Robison's streetcars provided ready access _SCULPTURE -LITERATURE -MUSIC _COMMUNITY PLANNING amateur "gentlemen's varsity" status to speculate in the professional market with and it was sold to Frank De Haas Robison who began a rebuilding program, One of his gain fame for his fastball pitches as "Cy" Young. Robison, who promised to "put ARCHEOLOGY-PREHISTORIC These direct ancestors to the present-day Cleveland Indians thus became $75/month salaries.

Among these men were Adrian "Addie" Joss, a pitcher, and Larry "Napoleon" Lajoie, improve their image.He was the owner of several streetcar lines and built the new The team went through a number of reorganizations and name changes major league baseball history.League Park served as the playing field of the pro- charter members of the modern American League.Somers went on to provide the majority land Blues. fessional team in Cleveland from 1891 to 1946; and the League Park Center served as

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Franklin Lewis, The Cleveland Indians, New York; G,P, Putnam's Sons, 1949, A Selection of Photographs Illustrating the Work of Charles S. Schneider, AIA, Cleveland, 1924. 10 GEOGRAPHICAL DATA QUADRANGLE NAME Cleveland North QUADRANGLE SCALE 1:24000 go west to the place of beginning.

LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES 11 FORM PREPARED BY NAME/ TITLE STREET & NUMBER T-71 & 17th Avenue CITY OR TOWN 12 STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER CERTIFICATION THE EVALUATED SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS PROPERTY WITHIN THE STATE IS: NATIONAL - As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), 1 hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER SIGNATURE KEEPER OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER GPO 921-803 466-1500 TELEPHONE CODE COUNTY DATE ORGANIZATION LOCAL NORTHING Columbus Ohio William G.Rose.Cleveland: The Making of a City.Cleveland:The World Publishing UTM REFERENCES ZONE EASTING Ohio Historic Preservation Office the southern curb of Linwood approximately 80';then proceed south to Lexington Avenue;then CHIEF OF REGISTRATION Co., 1950.

T.H. Murnane.Who's Who in The Clevelands.Boston;The Ball Publishing Co.,1907. David A. Simmons proceed along the eastern curb of 66th Street to Linwood Street;then proceed east along FOR NPS USE ONLY STATE X ZONE ATTEST: VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION Beginning at the northeast corner of 66th and Lexington Ave., 1 415/925\51610) Form No.

10-300a UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FOR NPS USE ONLY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE JUN 27 1979 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES AUG 8 1979 INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM League Park Center, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio CONTINUATION SHEET Baseball Company's main offices on the second floor with a cashier's room, auditor's Cleveland railroad construction firm, became owner of the club in 1916, and the ball Babe Ruth played in League Park a number of times for the Boston Red Sox, and hit one Iris Speaker, another member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, became the new manager Dodgers. Cleveland won the series. RECEIVED The increasing crowds attracted by the Naps resulted in the erection of a double-tiered historical significance of the park and preserving the remaining structures.

DATE ENTERED steel and concrete stadium in 19o9.The previous year had seen the construction of famous home run in l9l9 that resulted in the resignation of the Indians manager. park was sometimes known as Dunn Field. Company until 1946 when all operations were shifted to Cleveland Stadium.Most of the signed Stan Hywet Hall (NR,1975),the Seiberling Mansion in Akron. in League Park and the offices there continued tobe used by the Baseball ITEM NUMBER 8 building was designed by Charles S. Schneider, a Cleveland architect who also de- Series was therefore played in League Park in 1920 between the Indians and the Brooklyn The fans outgrew League Park by the end of the 1920s and plans were developed for the stadium at League Park was subsequently demolished except for the Center and part of one lower tier of bleachers.

Interest has recently been voiced in recognizing the the corner structure now known as the League Park Center.It housed the Cleveland present Cleveland Stadium on the shore of Lake Erie.The new ball park was dedicated When Napoleon Lajoie left Cleveland in l9l4,the team name was changed to the Cleveland Form No. 10-300a UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE JUN 2 7 1979 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES AUG 8 1979 DATE ENTERED INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM League Park, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio ITEM NUMBER E. 66th E.

70th [ Original stadium, now demolished Scale: 200'= 1" DAS 12/78 Linwood Lexington PAGE RECEIVED CONTINUATION SHEET Office and stadium portion remaining FOR NPS USE ONLY Inventory - Review - OTHER KEEPER HAER Send-back Re-submit ARCHEOLOGIST Maps Photos CONTROL HISTORIAN TECHNICAL BRANCH CHIEF Federal Register Entry National Register Write-up ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN United States Department of the Interior -Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service REVIEW UNIT CHIEF State 9-4-79 Entered AUG8979 CENTER League Park, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio Photographer: David Simmons, 12/78 View: View of former ball company office JUN 2 7 1979 AUG 8 1979 Negatives:Ohio Historic Preservation Office corner of Lexington and 66th. DOE 1ooking northeast.

Office on northeast League Park, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County,Ohio JUN 2 7 1979 AUG 8 1979 Negatives: Ohio Historic Preservation Office View of west side of stands Photographer: David Simmons 12/78 DOE AUG League Park, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio Photographer: David Simmons, 12/78 JUN 2 7 1979 Negatives: Ohio Historic Preservation Office stands taken from the east View of the east side of the office and the DOE 8 1979 AUG DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR CLEVELAND NORTH QUADRANGLE =UTm Reference: ROAD CLASSIFICATION RECEIVED REGISTER GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OHIO-CUYAHOGA CO. 8 1979 DI. Thomas i. Smith Columbus, Ohio 43211 For further information, please call the National Register at (202)343-6401.

AUG Location Byers/bjr Director Waynesville 8/10/79 Name Cuyahoga County League Park Honorable Howard Metzenbaum Date Entered Warren County Cleveland Warrensville Heights vicinity ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER The Ohio Historical Society Honorable Mary Rose Oakar Cooley Farms State Historic Preservation Officer STATE OHIO Waynesville Greek Revival Houses Interstate 7l at l7th Avenue Honorable John Glenn Also Notified Honorable Louis Stokes Honorable William H. Harsha