Union Base-Ball Grounds was a baseball park located in Chicago . The park was " very visibly downtown " , its small block bounded on the west by Michigan Avenue , on the north by Randolph Street , and on the east by railroad tracks and the lake shore , which was then much closer than it is today . The site is now part of Millennium Park . Union Base-Ball Grounds was also called White-Stocking Park , as it was the home field of the Chicago White Stockings of the National Association in 1871 , after spending the 1870 season as an independent professional club playing home games variously at Dexter Park race course and Ogden Park . The Great Chicago Fire of October 8 destroyed Union Base-Ball Grounds and all of the club 's possessions . After fulfilling its 1871 obligations by playing on the road , the club did not field a team for the next two seasons , and the ballpark was not rebuilt
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Union Base-Ball Grounds