Maimonides Park: Seaside Baseball and Brooklyn Cyclones
Why is it significant?
Stand outside the playful brick and iron gates of Maimonides Park, located on Surf Avenue adjacent to the boardwalk. Opened in June 2001 as KeySpan Park and designed by the firm of Jack L.
Key Facts
| Place | Maimonides Park: Seaside Baseball and Brooklyn Cyclones |
|---|---|
| Address | 1904 Surf Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11224, USA |
| Geo Coordinates | 40.57440, -73.98400 |
| Part of Walk | New York: Coney Island Boardwalk and Vintage Amusements |
| Generated | Generated |
Stand outside the playful brick and iron gates of Maimonides Park, located on Surf Avenue adjacent to the boardwalk. Opened in June 2001 as KeySpan Park and designed by the firm of Jack L. Gordon, this seven-thousand-seat jewel-box stadium brought professional baseball back to Brooklyn forty-four years after the heartbreaking departure of the beloved Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles in 1957. Here, the Brooklyn Cyclones, the High-A minor league affiliate of the New York Mets, play to sold-out summer crowds.
What makes this stadium universally adored by baseball purists is its extraordinary seaside backdrop. Fans seated along the third-base line can look past the outfield wall and scoreboard to see the steel lattice of the Parachute Jump and the Atlantic Ocean sparkling in the twilight. After Friday evening home games, spectacular municipal fireworks light up the sky above the outfield bleachers, reflecting across the ocean waves. The joyful banter of hometown fans, the rhythmic organ music, and the salty ocean breezes combine to make an evening at the ballpark a quintessential celebration of summertime Brooklyn culture and community spirit.
Outside the main stadium entrance stands a poignant life-size bronze statue of Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese, sculpted by William Behrends. The statue immortalizes the courageous moment in 1947 when Dodgers captain Reese put his arm around Robinson's shoulder before a hostile crowd in Cincinnati, demonstrating an unshakeable bond of racial solidarity that helped Robinson break the Major League Baseball color barrier.
Listen for the crack of wooden bats and the joyful vendors hawking Nathan's hot dogs and cold beer on warm summer evenings. The energetic cheers of hometown fans continue to celebrate the return of professional baseball to historic Brooklyn.
Walk east along Surf Avenue toward Stillwell Avenue to stand before the world-famous original home of the American hot dog.