City: Tallahassee   County: Leon   Year: 2023
Location: Cascades Park

Once home to the historic Smokey Hollow neighborhood, this area included a field where residents would play baseball. In honor of Tallahassee’s 100th anniversary, the city council approved and funded construction of a baseball field. Opened in 1924, Centennial Field was known for its iconic covered grandstand. Lumber companies donated wood. The local carpenters’ union donated labor. Centennial Field hosted professional baseball exhibition games as teams traveled north after spring training in South Florida and was home to a series of minor league and semi-pro baseball teams, including the Tallahassee Capitals and the Tallahassee Pirates. Florida State University, Florida A&M University and local high school football teams played home games here. Due to segregation laws and practices, Black teams were designated separate nights through the 1960s. A central gathering place for the community, Centennial Field hosted youth baseball and football leagues, concerts, fireworks, softball games, pageants, political rallies, graduation ceremonies and various other events over the years before being demolished in 1975. The area was converted into a stormwater facility and park, named Cascades Park, which opened in 2014.