John T. Brush Stairway

John T. Brush (1845-1912), the long-time owner of the New York Giants baseball franchise, previously owned the Indianapolis Hoosiers and Cincinnati Reds before buying the Giants in 1890 and retaining ownership until his death. He was honored in 1945 by the Baseball Hall of Fame for his role in developing the modern rules that govern the World Series. A steel-and-concrete stairway with 80 steps, dedicated to Brush and commissioned by his son-in-law, Harry Hempstead, was presented to the City of New York by the New York Giants on July 9, 1913. It was built to provide access for residents at the top of Coogan's Bluff, the steep rock escarpment of Highbridge Park, to the Polo Grounds, former home of the team. After the stadium's demolition in 1964, the stairway was left intact to provide a convenient walkway between the upper and lower tiers of Highbridge Park. Today it is the last remaining relic of the iconic stadium that housed five New York sports teams from 1890 to 1963. In the decade before the stairway's reconstruction in 2013, the New York City Daily News encouraged sports teams to join the restoration effort, and reconstruction was accomplished through the generosity of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and donations from the New York Football Giants, New York Mets, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, and Major League Baseball.

New York, New York · United States