The historic site of League Park in Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood is seeing fresh signs of development. 

Living in Hough gives people an urban yet suburban area to live in. It is one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, named after Oliver and Eliza Hough. 

League Park has been around since opening its doors back in May of 1891. A huge part of not only Cleveland’s baseball history but the country’s baseball history, League Park initially was called Dunn Field after the owner of the team, James Dunn. 

Many of baseball’s greatest have played at League Park. This is where Babe Ruth hit his 500^th home run on Aug. 11, 1929. Another great, Addie Joss, pitched a perfect game at the park in 1908. Many players made a name for themselves at the ballpark. 

The park stood until 1951, when most of the park, except the original ticket booth, was demolished. In 1979 League Park was declared a Cleveland Historic Landmark. In 2014 the city of Cleveland invested $6.3 million in restoring the field and turning the original ticket booth into a museum honoring the history of the park.

Today people can visit the museum. There are also homes that have recently been built in the area. 

On a sunny afternoon, walking around League Park is quite enjoyable. On a recent afternoon, two visitors to the park, Sheri and Kenny talked about their visit.

“This is the first time we have been here. It is amazing how there is a full-size baseball field in the middle of the area," they said.

So much has changed in the area over the years.

In 1852, the area was rural, and after League Park was built in 1891, more buildings and homes started to show up in the areas surrounding the park. 

Street names have changed. In 1898 East 65^th Street was Norwood Avenue and East 66^th Street was called Dunham Avenue. Linwood was called Beecher Street. It was not until years later when the names of the streets changed. 

The Hough neighborhood went through tough times when riots in the 1960s saw lots of destruction. Residents did flee the area as housing deteriorated. But in recent years, new housing has dotted the neighborhood and more construction is anticipated. 

A local developer, Allen Estates, is trying to bring modern homes to Hough. They are planning on expanding building north and west of League Park. 

There are also plans in order to build a new branch of the Cleveland Public Library in the surrounding neighborhood.   

Hough is a historic district known for the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, a series of ornamental displays honoring ethnic communities of the U.S. 

One of Hough’s assets is its location, close to University Circle and Cleveland Clinic, and not too far to downtown.