In 2013 the Brooklyn Collection acquired several boxes of Brooklyn Dodgers memorabilia from Al Todres, a lifelong collector. Todres certainly wasn’t the only one actively collecting Brooklyn Dodgers material nearly 60 years after the team was transferred to Los Angeles. Why does a baseball team that left Brooklyn in the middle of the last century still inspire so much loyalty and curiosity? Every collector has a different answer, and it certainly goes beyond statistics and player performance. The team that would become the Dodgers played in Eastern Park when Brooklyn was still an independent city, through a depression and two world wars. The story of the Dodgers runs parallel to the development of modern Brooklyn, but it wasn’t always an easy story.

“View from behind home plate of a pitch thrown during a Brooklyn Dodgers versus Chicago Cubs game. Pitcher is Lefty Liefield of the Chicago Cubs from 1912-1913.” - Ralph Irving Lloyd This is the second Washington Park, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers (previously the Brooklyn Superbas, Bridegrooms, Trolley Dodgers, National Leaguers) from 1898 to 1913. In 1913 they decamped to Ebbets Field on the east side of Prospect Park. The apartment buildings visible over the right field fence were on the north side of 1st Street, between Whitwell and Denton Places.

From the House that Ruth built to the Shot Heard ‘Round the World, New York has been home to baseball history for more than 170 years. Here are the places, some long-gone, where it happened.

From hip little coffee shops, beautiful street art, and spacious parks, Brooklyn is known as a bastion for community, creativity, and excitement. Its history spans back over 350 years and has its roots in New Amsterdam—it’s named after the Dutch town Breukelen after all, and each neighborhood has a unique cultural identity complete with great food. As you explore the borough, we’ve highlighted a few of Brooklyn’s numerous delicious restaurants. These local Brooklyn businesses all have a little slice of Brooklyn history to them and you will surely learn something new while enjoying a local meal.