21. Jackie Robinson House & Jackie Robinson Apartments (1916)

Jackie Robinson House in Flatbush

At 5224 Tilden Avenue in East Flatbush, Brooklyn sits the Jackie Robinson House, the home of baseball great Jackie Robinson from 1947 to 1949. The house was constructed around 1912 to 1916, and Robinson would later move to a home in Addisleigh Park, Queens from 1949 to 1955. Robinson was the first African American to play in the MLB, starting at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. At the time, Black baseball players would be relegated to the Negro leagues, yet Robinson would go on to win the Rookie of the Year Award while a resident of the East Flatbush residence. Robinson would win the National League MVP Award in 1949 and would be an All-Star for six consecutive seasons. His uniform number 42 was retired in 1997 across all major league teams. The Jackie Robinson Museum at 75 Varick Street in lower Manhattan was originally scheduled to open this year.

Ebbets Field Apartments

Another notable site related to Robinson are the Ebbets Field Apartments, which were built on the former site of Ebbets Field, the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Ebbets Field was where Robinson played his home games with the Dodgers, and they would go on to win the 1955 World Series. Today, the apartments and a nearby intermediate school are named in honor of the baseball legend with various markers denoting its history, including a home plate plaque.