Sports |

Then and now: Chicago’s lost sports venues

23rd Street Grounds (1872-77)

(aka State Street Grounds)

Then: Built shortly after the Great Chicago Fire, the wooden structure was home for four seasons to baseball’s White Stockings, who were renamed the Colts, Orphans and eventually Cubs. The first two seasons the club played at the park (1874-75) it competed in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players and the latter two in the National League. Other baseball teams from the Midwest would often come to Chicago to play on the field.

Now: A large empty field with the National Teachers Academy tucked into a corner.

Lot surrounded by 23rd Street, State Street, Cermak Road and Federal Street.

Alumni Gymnasium (1924-2011)

Then: Nicknamed “The Big Brown Box That Rocks,” the arena situated within a long jump shot of the “L” tracks was host to many of Loyola University’s athletic programs, including the 1963 NCAA men’s basketball champions coached by George Ireland and the men’s and women’s volleyball teams.

Now: The Arnold J. Damen S.J. Student Center for Loyola University and Joseph J. Gentile Arena.

6511 N. Sheridan Road

Alumni Hall (1956-2000)

Then: Home to DePaul’s men’s and women’s basketball and other athletic teams (Bulls practiced there in the 1960s and 1970s) as well as the Chicago Hustle of the Women’s Professional Basketball League from 1978-81. The Blue Demons men’s basketball team played here from 1956-80, when they moved to the Rosemont Horizon. The arena also hosted boxing: Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson both fought exhibition matches there.

Now: DePaul’s Lincoln Park Student Center.

1011 W. Belden Ave.

Chicago Coliseum (1860s-1895)

Then: The Coliseum is a name for three indoor sporting arenas that combined to stand for more than a century. The first was located downtown at State and Washington and hosted horse shows and boxing matches.

Now: In the heart of the Loop, the site is a shopping mecca anchored by the Marshall Field & Co.Building, which houses Macy’s. No marker commemorates the Coliseum.

State and Washington streets.

Chicago Coliseum (1896-1897)

Then: The second Coliseum, in the South Side’s Woodlawn community, opened with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, followed a month later by the Democratic National Convention. Indoor college football games, horse shows, roller derbies and bicycle races (which were immensely popular at the time) were held there for only 19 months before a fire destroyed the building on Dec. 24, 1897.

Now: The South Side YMCA, built in 1984, and its surrounding grounds.

63rd Street and Stony Island Avenue.

Chicago Coliseum (1900-1971)

Then: The best Chicago Coliseum opened in 1900 on the ruins of Libby Prison. In addition to being a major concert hall, it played host to the Blackhawks, Bulls and the NBA’s Zephyrs as well as professional wrestling and bowling. It closed in 1971 and was demolished in 1982.

Now: The Soka Gakkai International Buddhist Center was founded in 1975, and according to the organization is “a worldwide network of socially engaged Buddhists dedicated to a common vision of a better world through the empowerment of the individual and the promotion of peace, culture and education.” The only acknowledgment of the arena is a park on the west side of South Wabash named Coliseum Park.

1513 S. Wabash Ave.

Chicago Stadium (1929-1994)

Then: The former home to the Blackhawks and Bulls, the arena also hosted many other sporting events — in addition to concerts and political conventions. Most significantly, the 1932 NFL championship game between the Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans (won by the Bears 9-0) was held there due to inclement weather. Some of the most legendary boxing matches in history were staged at the Stadium, including bouts featuring Sugar Ray Robinson, Jake LaMotta, Rocky Marciano and Jersey Joe Wolcott.

Now: Parking Lot C for the United Center, directly across Madison Street from the new arena. The “Madhouse on Madison” is honored with a plaque in the pavement directly behind a statue of Hawks players (on the north side of Madison, across from the UC’s main entrance) and it depicts the Stadium and features a Hawks logo with the words “Remember the Roar.”

1800 W. Madison St.

Comiskey Park (1910-1990)

Then: Originally named White Sox Park and known for a time as the Baseball Palace of the World, Comiskey Park was home to the White Sox for 80 years. The stadium hosted four World Series and three All-Star Games — including the first in 1933 — and was the site of the James Braddock-Joe Louis heavyweight championship fight in 1937. Other tenants included the Sting of the North American Soccer League and Cardinals of the NFL. One of the more memorable events held at the park was “Disco Demolition Night” in 1979.

Now: Parking Lot B for the adjacent Guaranteed Rate Field is home to the site of the home plate and batter’s box recognized in the concrete and the words “COMISKEY PARK — 1910-1990 — HOMEPLATE.” It’s a popular spot for photos as well as whiffle ball games.

324 W. 35th St.

DePaul Auditorium (1907-1979)

Then: Affectionately known as “The Barn,” it was home to the Blue Demons from 1923-56. DePaul won 81 straight games in the building — the longest home-court winning streak in school history. It was demolished in 1979 after serving as an Army barracks, theater, gym and student center.

Now: Ray Meyer Fitness & Recreation Center, nicknamed “The Ray.”

2235 N. Sheffield Ave.

Dexter Park (Late 1860s-1934)

Then: Located next to the Union Stock Yards, the horse racing track was also the first home of the White Stockings and hosted other events, including wrestling. Destroyed by a fire in May 1934, it became the site of the International Amphitheatre.

Now: Aramark Uniform Services plant. The company provides uniform rentals and cleaning supplies.

42nd and Halsted streets.

International Amphitheatre (1934-1999)

Then: In addition to Elvis Presley, the Beatles and other famous musicians, the Bulls and Packers of the NBA, Cougars of the WHA and Sting of the NASL also played at the amphitheater. Built for $1.5 million on the site of another lost venue, Dexter Park race track, the International Amphitheatre was also the site of the four Democratic National Conventions and two Republican National Conventions, the Chicago Auto Show and numerous wrestling events. Before moving to the Chicago Stadium, the Bulls played their inaugural season there. Joe Frazier’s final professional boxing match was hosted by the Amphitheatre, and many high school and college basketball games were held there.

Now: Aramark Uniform Services plant. The company provides uniform rentals and cleaning supplies. A company spokesman told the Tribune nothing in the factility marks the site of the once-great Amphitheatre.

4220 S. Halsted St.

Normal Park (1898-Unknown)

Then: Records are sketchy on the dates of the football stadium’s existence, but it housed the Chicago Cardinals (though their name changed several times) of the American Professional Football Association (later the NFL), and the team went 19-7-2 during its tenure there.

Now: Chicago Police Department facility and single-family homes.

Racine Avenue between West 61st and 62nd streets to Throop Street.

Patten Gymnasium (1909-1940)

Then: The arena was home to the Northwestern men’s basketball team from its opening to 1940 and also hosted the first NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament in 1939. The tournament featured eight teams, with Oregon defeating Ohio State 46-33 in the championship game. Sculptures by Hermon Atkins MacNeil entitled “Physical Development” and “Intellectual Development” that stood outside the gym were moved to the front of the current Patten Gymnasium at 2407 Sheridan Road.

Now: The site houses the Northwestern University Technological Institute.

2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston.

South Side Park (1884-Unknown)

Then: In 1884, the ballpark, also known as Union Base Ball Park and the Chicago Cricket Club Grounds, was the home to the Chicago Browns of the Union Association. The Browns morphed into the Pittsburgh Stogies midway through their first season in the league.

Now: The area between Wabash and South Michigan Avenue at Pershing is home to an insurance agency, Italian restaurant and barber shop to the north and a firehouse to the south.

Pershing Road and Wabash Avenue.

South Side Park (1890-93)

Then: Also known as Brotherhood Park, the Chicago Pirates of the Players’ League played here in 1890 and were followed by the White Stockings in 1891-93. The ballpark ran alongside the Rock Island Railroad tracks on the site of what became Comiskey Park and Armour Square Park.

Now: Parking Lot B of Guaranteed Rate Field and Armour Square Park.

35th Street and Wentworth Avenue.

South Side Park (1900-1940)

Then: From 1900-1940, it served as the home of the White Sox before they moved into Comiskey Park and later hosted the Chicago American Giants of the Negro Leagues. The stadium also was host of the 1906 Cubs-Sox World Series. It later became known as Schorling Park and was destroyed by a fire on Christmas Day 1940.

Now: Wentworth Gardens public housing development, just south of Guaranteed Rate Field.

Pershing Road and Wentworth Avenue.

Stagg Field (1893-1957)

Then: The stadium (capacity 50,000) was the original home of the powerhouse University of Chicago football team and hosted many track and field events, including the 1936 U.S. Olympic Trials and nine NCAA championship meets. But it is better known as the site of the Manhattan Project, which produced the first artificial, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction on Dec. 2, 1942, on a squash court under the stadium’s west stands.

Now: The University of Chicago’s Joseph Regenstein Library. Standing outside is a statue called “Nuclear Energy” to mark the spot of the Manhattan Project.

1100 E. 57th St.

Union Base-Ball Grounds (1871, 1878-1884)

(aka Lake Front Park, Lake-Shore Park)

Then: Home of the White Stockings, the ballpark bordered Michigan Avenue almost to the lakefront and was burned to the ground during the Great Chicago Fire a few months after opening. It was rebuilt, and the team played there until the city reclaimed the land in 1884.

Now: Millennium Park.

Michigan Avenue and Randolph Street.

Washington Park Race Track (1884-1905)

Then: There were two Washington Parks, the first spanning 1884-1905 and featuring a nine-hole golf course in the infield. The track, one of five in the Chicago area but the first to race thoroughbreds, hosted the American Derby, which at the time ranked as one of the bigger horse races in the country. Early auto races also were held at the original track.

Now: Commercial and residential area in the Woodlawn community.

61st Street and Cottage Grove Avenue.

Washington Park Race Track (1926-1977)

Then: The second Washington Park stood until it burned to the ground Feb. 5, 1977. During its tenure it continued to host the American Derby and significant stakes races.

Now: A commercial retail area, the site is marked by a historical marker that is located on a small patch of land adjacent to a Best Buy.

17800 Halsted St., Homewood

West Side Grounds (1885-1891)

Then: Two ballparks shared the name West Side Grounds (or West Side Park), the first housing the White Stockings from 1885-91. The stadium also featured a bicycle track.

Now: Andrew Jackson Language Academy at 1340 W. Harrison St. The Willis Tower looms in the distance.

Lot surrounded by Congress Parkway and Loomis, Harrison and Throop streets.

West Side Grounds (1893-1915)

Then: The more well-known of the West Side Grounds, the stadium with a seating capacity of 16.000 was home to the Colts-Orphans-Cubs from 1893-1915, and they won four National League pennants (1906-08, 1910) and the World Series in 1907 and ’08. The ballpark also hosted the 1906 Series between the Cubs and White Sox, which the Sox won.

Now: University of Illinois Medical Center. A plaque marking the site sits outside the Department of Psychiatry Neuropsychiatric Institute Building at 912 S. Wood St. According to the plaque, the Cubs’ record at the ballpark was 1,108-640.

Lot surrounded by Polk, Lincoln (now Wolcott Avenue), Taylor and Wood streets.