History
William Wrigley Jr. built the ballpark for the PCL Los Angeles Angels and opened it on September 29, 1925. Zachary Taylor Davis designed it, and its reported cost of about $1.5 million earned it the nickname 'Wrigley's Million Dollar Palace.' The Chicago Cubs also held spring training games there from 1926.
The Angels played there through 1957, and the Hollywood Stars shared it for several seasons. The park also hosted the first NFL Pro Bowl in 1939, championship boxing, the 1960 'Home Run Derby' television series and a 1963 civil rights rally with Martin Luther King Jr.
The Dodgers acquired the park in a 1957 deal and later donated it to the city. The expansion American League Angels played their only season there in 1961. The ballpark was demolished in 1969, and the site became the Gilbert W. Lindsay Community Center, where a youth diamond still carries the Wrigley Field name.
Why it matters: It was the leading ballpark of the Pacific Coast League era and the first major-league home of the Angels.
Timeline
- September 29, 1925
The PCL Angels beat San Francisco 10-8 before about 18,000.
- January 15, 1939First NFL Pro Bowl[1]
The park hosted the first Pro Bowl.
- September 15, 1957
San Diego swept the Angels in the final minor-league games before the Dodgers arrived in Los Angeles.
- October 1, 1961
Cleveland beat the expansion Angels 8-5 at the end of their only season here.
- May 26, 1963Martin Luther King Jr. rally[1]
The ballpark hosted a civil rights rally with Dr. King.
- March 1969
The ballpark was torn down; Wikipedia says demolition was underway by January 1969.
The site today
| Physical status | Site redeveloped[1,2,3] |
|---|---|
| Current use | Gilbert W. Lindsay Community Center and park; the original diamond and grandstand area is occupied by the Kedren Community Mental Health Center and parking[1,2] |
| Surviving remnants | A youth ball field in the northwest corner of the park, locally called 'Wrigley Field', used by Wrigley Little League[1] |
| Mapped location | Former venue parcel |
Street View near the former site · Satellite view (external, current imagery)
Teams & events
| Los Angeles Angels | Pacific Coast League · 1925–1957 |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles Angels | Pacific Coast League · 1961 |
| Hollywood Stars | Pacific Coast League · 1926–1938 · tenant |
Listed here are organizations that used this physical venue. A franchise's history and a venue's history are tracked separately.
Venue facts
| Official name | Wrigley Field |
|---|---|
| Other names | Wrigley's Million Dollar Palace; Los Angeles Wrigley Field; Wrigley Field |
| Location | 425 E. 42nd Place at Avalon Boulevard, South Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California[1,3] |
| Venue type | Ballpark |
| Sports | Baseball, Football, Soccer, Boxing & wrestling |
| Level | Minor League, MLB |
| Opened | September 29, 1925[1,2,3] |
| Last used for sports | October 1, 1961[1,2,3] |
| Demolished | 1969[1,2,3] |
| Physical status | Site redeveloped |
| Original capacity | 22,000[1,2,3] |
| Final capacity | 20,457[1,2,3] |
| Capacity notes | 22,000 in 1925 and 20,457 in 1961 (Wikipedia). SABR gives a 1961 seat count of 20,712 including bleachers; Ballparks of Baseball lists 20,450. |
| Architect | Zachary Taylor Davis[1] |
| Construction cost | About $1.5 million (as reported by The Sporting News per SABR); Wikipedia notes a 1928 Wrigley remark citing $1.2 million[1,2] |
| Surface | Grass[1] |
| Owner / operator | William Wrigley Jr. (original owner); acquired by the Dodgers in a 1957 deal and donated to the City of Los Angeles[1] |
| Closure | Minor-league baseball ended there after 1957, and the AL Angels played only the 1961 season there; the city later cleared the park for a community center. |
Documented details
Connected venues
Sources
- Wrigley Field (Los Angeles), Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, architect, capacity, closed, construction cost, coordinates, current land use, demolished, events, opened, owner operator, remnants, surface, teams
- Wrigley Field (Los Angeles), Society for American Baseball Research (Jim Gordon). Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: capacity, closed, construction cost, current land use, demolished, opened, teams
- Los Angeles Wrigley Field, Ballparks of Baseball. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, capacity, closed, demolished, opened
Research confidence
Key facts on this page (opening, closing, status and location) are each supported by sources, with key dates corroborated by at least two independent sources. Last reviewed 2026-10-19.
Where sources disagree (4)
- Final MLB game: SABR says both that the Angels' last home game was a win over Cleveland on 1961-09-30 and that Cleveland won the final game 8-5 on 1961-10-01; Wikipedia and Ballparks of Baseball give 1961-10-01.
- Location: SABR describes Wrigley's 1922 option on a site bounded by 39th Street, South Park Avenue and 41st Street. That is the originally optioned site, and it differs from the built location at 42nd Place and Avalon Boulevard given by Wikipedia and Ballparks of Baseball.
- Hollywood Stars tenancy: 1926-1935 and 1938 (not continuous through 1938).
- Ballparks of Baseball names William Wrigley as 'architect'; Wikipedia names Zachary Taylor Davis.
See something wrong or missing? Suggest a correction or submit a source.