Things I did not know: Cleveland’s League Park, in which Cy Young pitched for the Cleveland Spiders in 1891 and which was home to the Cleveland Indians until 1946, still stands. At least partially. And the city of Cleveland has somehow found some money to help renovate it:
As the article makes clear, there’s oodles of history associated with that yard. And while its days as a baseball stadium were over before my mother was born, it’s great that enough of the structure remains that it can anchor what sounds like will a useful and vibrant facility in the future. One that recalls history while still serving a present need.
City Architecture is wrapping up plans that include restoring the ticket house and a bleacher wall and creating a Major League-size diamond in the same place as the original. Home plate will go in the exact spot where it rested the day that Babe Ruth whacked his 500th career home run in 1929.
Plans also call for a community building with a museum, a youth baseball diamond and a field for football and soccer. If bids are low enough, the city could add a pavilion and splash park.
As the article makes clear, there’s oodles of history associated with that yard. And while its days as a baseball stadium were over before my mother was born, it’s great that enough of the structure remains that it can anchor what sounds like will a useful and vibrant facility in the future. One that recalls history while still serving a present need.
And of course all I can think of is how sad it was that no one could pull that off with Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Despite the fact that it sat vacant for nearly 60 years less than League Park did.
Sigh.