3. Hilltop Park, Washington Heights

Hilltop Park circa 1910. Image via Pictorial News Co. on Wikimedia Commons

Before they were called the New York Yankees, and before they played in the Bronx, the New York Highlanders played at Hilltop Park, originally American League Park, in Washington Heights.

The Highlanders played at Hilltop Park from 1903-1912 and the stadium was even home to the New York Giants in 1911 while the Polo Grounds stadium was being reconstructed. Hilltop Park gets its name from its hilltop location, which granted visitors of the park a wonderful view of the Hudson River and the New Jersey Palisades from behind home plate.

Initial construction of the park only took six weeks to complete and sat 16,000, although several updates were given to Hilltop Park in its short life, including an added 5,000 bleacher seats built in 1911 to help accommodate Giants fans for the season.

The last game was played on October 5, 1912 after both the Giants and Highlanders moved to the newly renovated Polo Grounds following the 1912 season, where the Highlanders were renamed as the more famous Yankees. The building remained unused until its demolition in 1914.

Today, the site where Hilltop Park once resided is the location of Columbia University-New York Presbyterian Medical Center, who acquired the land in 1928. The hospital does honor the former ballpark with a plaque marking the exact location of where home plate was once located.