Perched on a hill overlooking the Hudson River at the southwest corner of Broadway and 168th Street in Washington Heights was Hilltop Park, the original home ball field of the New York Yankees (known then as the Highlanders).
Entrance to Hilltop Park (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)
The third base grandstand, which once ran parallel to Fort Washington Avenue, is shown in the picture below.
The first base grandstand, depicted in the photograph below, ran parallel to 165th Street.
Kid Gleason of the Chicago White Sox at Hilltop Park (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)
The New York Presbyterian/Columbia Medical Center, erected in the 1920’s, now engulfs the entire site.
American League Park Circa 1910 (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)
Nothing remains of the old ballpark.
New York Presbyterian/Columbia Medical Center, Former Site of Hilltop Park
In a courtyard just off Fort Washington Avenue, between 165th and 168th Streets, is a bronze plaque marking the former location of home plate.
Former Site of Hilltop Park’s Home Plate
The New York Yankees donated the plaque to the hospital and unveiled it in 1993 during a dedication attended by former Highlanders pitcher Chet Hoff, who was then 102 years old. Mr. Hoff went on to become the oldest living ex-major-leaguer ever, before his death five years later.
Bronze Plaque Honoring Former Location of Hilltop Park
This famous picture (below) of Ty Cobb sliding into third base, and third baseman Jimmy Austin, was taken at Hilltop Park.
Ty Cobb Sliding Into Third Base at Hilltop Park (photo image courtesy of Mike’s Chicago White Sox website at www.freewebs.com/karamaxjoe/jimmyaustinjersey.htm
The location of third base, where this picture was taken, is inside the Presbyterian Building shown in the photo below, just 90 feet beyond where the home plate marker resides.
The Presbyterian Building, Former Site of Third Base at Hilltop Park
The medical center’s chapel – the Pauline A. Hartford Memorial Chapel – is constructed on what once was Hilltop Park’s right field. It is, literally, a true “church of baseball.”
Pauline A Hartford Memorial Chapel (With Rose Window Seen Through Trees), Located in Former Site of Hilltop Park Right Field
UPDATE – AUGUST 2011
The courtyard off Fort Washington Street currently is under construction and the bronze plaque honoring the former location of home plate has been removed.
Sign On Fort Washington Street Announcing Construction In Courtyard
As such, the courtyard is closed off to visitors.
Courtyard as seen through chain link fence
Although the actual ballpark is long gone, the distinctive, attached apartment buildings at the corner of 168th and Broadway remain from the time of Hilltop Park. Those buildings appear in the photograph below.
Players Practicing at Hilltop Park (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)
New York Highlander Curt Coleman at Hilltop Park (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)
The buildings as they appear today facing 168th Street, at the intersection of 168th and Broadway.
Apartments Facing 168th Street
The apartment buildings house offices, a restaurant, and Melbran Pharmacy.
Melbran Pharmacy at the Corner of 168th and Broadway
The former ballpark site is easily accessible via the 168th Street Subway Station.
Subway Stop at 168th and Broadway
The lost ballpark located up Broadway, 120 blocks north on Times Square, is worth a visit for any true New York Yankees fan and is only a two mile drive from the Yankees current home at 161st Street in the Bronx. Just take the Macombs Dam Bridge across the Harlem River to west 155th Street to Broadway, and head north to 165th Street. Or, take the subway to 168th Street Station.