Historians Still Debate Gowanus Wall
On Tuesday, we reported on the Gowanus building at toid and toid owned by Con Ed, that is said to contain a portion of the wall once surrounding the Washington Park baseball field used by the Brooklyn Dodgers before their move to Ebbets Field. From the Daily News today comes a definitive answer from Brooklyn…
On Tuesday, we reported on the Gowanus building at toid and toid owned by Con Ed, that is said to contain a portion of the wall once surrounding the Washington Park baseball field used by the Brooklyn Dodgers before their move to Ebbets Field. From the Daily News today comes a definitive answer from Brooklyn author and historian Brian Merlis, “I can say with absolute certainty that this wall was not part of Washington Park prior to the Brooklyn team’s departure [in 1912],” The paper goes on to say that historians believe the wall was part of either a carriage house or club house that was built after the 1912 move by the Dodgers. Even though the Dodgers may not have played within this wall, it is still part of the old Washington Park ball field, and still one of the oldest surviving pieces of baseball history in New York. Con Ed Spokeswoman D. Joy Faber has announced that the wall will be preserved. Further historical information, including a wealth of photographs, can be found here.
Famed Wall in Gowanus Not Part of Original Dodgers Stadium [Daily News]
Bulldozer Time for Gowanus Building [Brownstoner]
Con Ed Readying Demolition of 3rd St. Warehouse [Brownstoner]
Photo: Wall in 2004 by covehurst.net
What this wall does is confuse a lot of people. Is it really a relic? Is it really where the Dodgers played? Is it just baloney?
I don’t like this sort of thing because it tends to devalue real historical monuments, which we have in abundance in this Boro. Brooklyn is an old built environment. We lose genuine architectural treasures every year. I can’t get excited over this wall, which I am begining to realize is more hype than substance. Myth is not the same as history.
I agree that a simple bronze plaque would be far better.
I introduced the quote about “shrillness of rhetoric” just to stir the pot. I’ve been known to do that on occasion.
“The word “history” is over-used on this site. Like the word “diversity” in politics, it has become thus almost meaningless, and just leads to a lack of critical thinking (at best) and/or political correctness (at worst).”
Perhaps benson if a simple difference of opinion on preservation would not always be turned by you into an insult on preservationist’s thinking capacity or a swipe at our politics, I would take you more seriously. But you come across as considering yourself the moral voice of sanity and reason and the rest of us, not. Then you get upset when people reply in kind. Maybe if you had put your concerns simply, like Montrose and Minard did, you wouldn’t get a reaction.
And you really need to stop going after MM because you’re jealous of her ability to think and write so eloquently on a subject. She earned her Amen Choir.
Denton and bkn4life;
I don’t dispute what you say. You are stating what you know, and I’ll state what I know: in the 5 years I’ve lived here, I’ve seen ZERO people looking at that wall.
In my opinion, if Con Ed put up a structure similiar to that on 4th Ave, it would be an improvement. I’m all for it.
benson..
i live a few blocks away. i HAVE directed dozens of people to this wall of no repute.
as was stated the other day… a simple plaque would make a world of difference.
its bleak becase the neighborhood sucked for decades. and because con-ed left it a blank wall. if they had done anything else other than use it a as a wall… all woud be better off.
and before you claim any development would be beneficial… it will be a two block long glass fortress just like the 4th ave side..
benson, I’ve stopped by that wall numerous times over the years just to look at it, and photograph it with a variety of equipment. I guess I missed you. I’m not saying the building shouldn’t be torn down, maybe incorporate it into something else.
What kinda car you got?
🙂
As I wrote yesterday, once an artifact is reconfigured or denatured to the point that it is no longer recognizable as the thing that it is supposed to embody, it loses a great deal of its historic significance. In this case we now hear that the fragmentary object does not date to the period when the Dodgers and the Tip-Tops were playing ball at the site. Case closed.
The artifact has no connection whatever to the historical event (early baseball) that was supposed to give it its significance. Therefore it is just an old painted brick wall.
Whether or not the Dodgers played within these specific walls really isn’t the point as to preservation. That’s an extra bit of nostalgic icing on the cake. The wall is STILL part of the Washington Park Baseball field, circa 1915 or so, which in this city, is ancient. We don’t have too many, if any, other remnants of the early days of baseball left in the city, so why tear it down? If you look at the linked site, http://www.covehurst.net, there is a wealth of evidence, especially photographs and ephemera that show a strong history of the wall, Washington Park, and baseball history. Baseball was HUGE in this town, and the teams, games and places they played illustrate the economic, ethnic, and social history of our city in ways few other things can. Leave the wall alone.
Ok, I can see that it’s going to be one of those days, eh??
Well, let me comment then.
First, Bxgrl, I’ll take being called “shrill” by you under advisement.
Secondly, you are proving my point about political correctness. I live around the corner from this wall, and in fact, my car is parked in front of it as I write this post (no “keying” please!). As I said, this stretch of 3rd Ave is bleak and lifeless, and it is of direct interest to me what happens to it. Therefore, if you expect me to just be quiet and bow before Brownstoner because MM calls it “historical”, well, THAT is political correctness.
I pass this wall almost every day. You know how many people I’ve seen in the 5 years I’ve lived here come to view this “historical” wall. ZERO. Let me repeat that. ZERO.
I will not be quiet about the development of my neighborhood. Call me what you will, but I speak my mind, just like everyone else on this site. If I don’t sing from the choir sheet, so be it.