Venable Park facts for kids
Venable Park was once a city park in the Waverly neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. Today, the area looks very different, with new buildings and playing fields where the park and later stadiums once stood.
History of Venable Park
Venable Park first opened around 1908. It was originally known as Holyrood Park. Just two years later, in 1910, its name was changed to Venable Park. This change honored Richard M. Venable, who had recently passed away. He was the president of Baltimore's city park board.
In 1922, the park's boundaries were described as Ellerslie Avenue to the west and Gorsuch Street to the south. 33rd Street cut through the middle of the park. A new sports stadium was planned for the northern part of 33rd Street.
From Park to Stadium
The city built a large sports venue called Venable Stadium in 1922. This stadium was built right where the old park used to be. Over time, people started calling it Baltimore Municipal Stadium, or just Municipal Stadium.
Later, between 1949 and 1950, the stadium was taken down. A new, more famous stadium, Memorial Stadium, was built in its place. What's interesting is that games kept happening there while the old stadium was being removed and the new one was being built! It was like one stadium slowly disappeared as another one grew in its spot.
What's There Now
Memorial Stadium was also taken down in 2002. After that, new buildings were constructed on the site. Today, you can find an apartment complex and a playing field there. Some maps now show a small grassy area next to the apartments as Venable Park, bringing the name back after many years.
The southern part of the original park also became home to Eastern High School. This school building was later changed into a facility for Johns Hopkins University.
The Venable Park Novel
A novel titled Venable Park was released in 2010. It was re-released in April 2015 by Apprentice House, a publisher at Loyola University Maryland. The story in the book takes place in 1924. Its main settings are Venable Stadium and an old steel town in Maryland called Sparrows Point.
