Terrapin Park (later known as Oriole Park (V)) was home to the Federal League Baltimore Terrapins in 1914 and 1915, the International League Orioles from 1916 to 1944, and the Negro American League Baltimore Elite Giants from 1939 to 1944.
Terrapin Park was located at the northwest corner of East 29th Street and Greenmount Avenue in Baltimore.
Terrapin Park was located directly across East 29th Street from American League Park, the former home of the 1901-02 American League Orioles and the 1903-1914 International League Orioles, shown in the map above (see Baltimore’s First American League Park). Likewise, Union Park, the former home of the 1890s National League Baltimore Orioles sat just four blocks south of Terrapin Park (see Baltimore’s Union Park).
First base ran parallel to East 29th Street.
A building that once housed the “E.I. duPont de Nemours & Co. Inc. Finishes Division” sits in place of the first base side grandstand.
The Barclay School, constructed in 1958, sits in the former location of the third base side grandstand.
The current section of Barclay Street between East 29th Street and East 30th Street did not exist at the time of Terrapin Park. Instead, Vineyard Lane ran along the third base side of the grandstand at an angle from the left field corner to mid block west of Barclay.
The photograph below shows the location of both former ballpark sites, Terrapin Field on the left and American League Park on the right.
Left Field ran parallel to Greenmount Avenue.
St. John’s Episcopal Church, which remains at the site today, sat just past left center field. It can be seen in the photograph of Terrapin Park taken on opening day 1914.
Several row houses that sat on the west side of Greenmount Avenue just beyond the left field fence still remain at the site today.
The back yard of the row houses at Terrapin Park faced left field.
The front of those row houses face Greenmount Avenue.
Additional row houses were located at the corner of East 29th Street and Greenmount and were visible beyond the first base side Grandstand.
The row houses remain on the site today at the corner of East 29th and Greenmount.
Left/Center Field ran parallel to East 30th street.
The building located at 401 E. 30th Street, which was once the Beverage Capital Corporation, a bottling plant, is now Peabody Heights Brewery. The entrance to the brewery sits in the area that was once left/center field.
A brick wall located in brewery’s parking lot is believed to be from the time of Terrapin Park. We currently are investigating whether the brick wall was part of the ballpark or built after the demolition of Terrapin Park/Oriole Park.
If you ask old time Baltimore baseball fans about Oriole Park, their memories jump not to the current Camden Yards, or even old Memorial Stadium, but to Oriole Park on East 29th and Greenmount. Once known as Terrapin Park for the Federal League Baltimore Terrapins, the ballpark later became known as Oriole Park and was home to one of the greatest minor league teams in baseball history. A fire destroyed Oriole Park in 1944, a significant event in Baltimore baseball history in that it required the International League Orioles to move to Municipal Stadium up on 33rd Street. That move, and the resulting increase in fans attending those games, helped convince Major League Baseball that Baltimore should again be crowned a major league city. Ten years later, the “new” American League Orioles arrived in 1954, playing their games in Memorial Stadium (a reconstructed Municipal Stadium). Although Terrapin Park/Oriole Park is now just another lost ballpark site, it is worth a trip for any true Baltimore baseball fan. And while you are there, be sure to visit the many other former major league ballpark sites, all of which sit within less than a mile of each other.
