Yankee Stadium, opening day, 1923

Aerial of Yankees StadiumIn the old stadium
Recently I was part of a group of city officials who attended a meeting at Yankee Stadium to brainstorm the future plans for the ballpark. Much discussion was given to the current design of the new stadium and the subsequent plans in place to honor its history.

The original Yankee Stadium was a palace for baseball when originally constructed in 1923 and served as a symbol of cultural aspiration for its Bronx patrons from the nearby Grand Concourse. It had generous hallways, daylight in the lounges, and elegant proportions. The old stadium was a treasured home for a team revered by its fans and it also had a lustrous history that included papal Masses, championship boxing matches and a one-for-the-history-books rally when Nelson Mandela was freed. It bears mentioning at this time, however, that much of the stadium’s original majesty was essentially destroyed by a 1970s renovation that added clumsy private boxes and obliterated much of the Yankees’ first home.

Now that we have a new stadium, one that has much of the lightness and grandeur of the original building, it’s time to address the manner of commemoration of the old site. We can choose two different paths in designing any commemorative monument: authenticity or honor. Both paths are good options, and we can feel elevated by either approach. Authenticity would ask us to preserve the field and some elements of the building so that we can experience the “real” Yankee Stadium. Honor would allow us to construct something new that commemorates the idea of Yankee Stadium but does not provide the experience of being on the historic field. There are times and places that deserve to be commemorated and preserved, such as our Civil War battlefields, which take us to a time and a place, and help us to remember special moments in our history. Then there are places that deserve to be remembered, or honored, in new ways.exterior of new stadiuminterior of the new stadium

The city and nearby community have developed a wonderful plan for young and old baseball fans that includes turning the original Yankee Stadium site into a park with three ball fields. These are open spaces that will be fully used by residents and their children, but they will not preserve the old Yankee Stadium – and maybe they should not!

When the Yankees organization decided that it needed a new home, other locations were discussed: the west side of Manhattan, Westchester County, etc. It became a clear necessity to the city and the baseball organization that the Yankees should remain in the Bronx. That decision required space for the new stadium be found, and the nearest spot was in the neighboring park. The team and the city came up with a plan to relocate the open space to the site of the original stadium and provide new recreation spaces for the community including running tracks, soccer fields and more. But the history on this site is of a baseball team that symbolized the aspirations of a neighborhood and a nation.

How important is it for baseball fans to walk on the actual field of Yankee Stadium? Can we create a place that allows for the honor of the baseball past while providing open spaces that are sorely needed by the community? And what kind of place would that be? First, the place should have a name that is specific to what we are honoring. Secondly, it should be constructed of high quality materials that either recall or relate to something about Yankee Stadium or the team. The space is already a walkway facing the new stadium and it should be a wonderful path that leads visitors to the stadium’s entry. Most importantly, there should be a way to tell the story of the Yankees and their stadium. That story could be told either through information embedded in the walkway, or through listening posts along the path.

in the new stadium, photo by malcom pinckney.

At the end of the day, walking on the field that used to be in Yankee Stadium is not likely to serve either the baseball fan or the neighborhood around the park. The hope is that the fields will be in use much of the day and evening. The real experience of the Yankees’ past will be told on the new walkway with the provision of viewing areas or stations that will allow all the opportunity to visit the Yankees of the past while leading fans to the new home of the team’s present.