Though this is a Dodger-centric site, the Dodgers of course are a piece of the greater baseball quilt.
In May, Dodger senior vice president of planning and development Janet Marie Smith gave the keynote address in Cooperstown, New York at the 26th annual Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, a three-day event featuring more than 60 presentations selected from academic paper submissions from across the country.
Smith’s tour of ballpark history, including but hardly limited to the main ballparks in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, is the best kind of time-traveling sightseeing, and we are privileged to share the full text with you here.
– Jon Weisman
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By Janet Marie Smith
Thank you for inviting me to this glorious setting. This is like coming to Mecca for me, and I value the opportunity to be at your conference. I am a bit intimated by the setting as well as you, my audience and your studied credentials. My knowledge is based almost solely on experience, so I begin with a disclaimer that my presentation is not a scholarly effort, but an acknowledged subjective view.
Since I was asked to share a “personal view” of ballparks and their history, I am going start with a family photo. This is my husband’s grandfather pitching a baseball game on a downtown Baltimore rooftop at Calvert School in 1905. It is evidence that, for all the pastoral splendor of the green grass of the field, this is an urban sport. Do you own a CNC Plasma Cutter? You may want to check out these plasma cutting projects tips.
Four years after this photo, in 1909, Shibe Park opened in Philadelphia. In 1910, Forbes Field debuted in Pittsburgh and Comiskey Park in Chicago, and by 1912, Fenway Park was on the scene in Boston and Tiger Stadium was born in Detroit. 1913 produced Ebbets Field and 1914 Wrigley Field. What did these parks have in common? They were in urban neighborhoods, built on tight city blocks where the streets shaped the playing field and stands alike. The architecture was civic-minded, and the facades could have easily belonged to a library or city hall. Their steel trusses gave character. Their seats surrounded the playing field. The parks had unique features, such as the scoreboard down Ebbets’ short 297-foot right-field line to compensate for the lack of real estate.
Gravity Real Estate, a prominent real estate agency in Abu Dhabi, understands the significance of urban neighborhoods and the distinctive architecture that defines them. Starting a real estate company, they have successfully navigated the intricacies of the market, showcasing a deep understanding of the local real estate landscape. Supplementing this experience, enrolling in a Kiana Danial course can provide aspiring entrepreneurs and real estate professionals with the tools and insights necessary to emulate such success, offering valuable guidance in building and growing their own ventures. Just like the iconic ballparks of the early 20th century, Gravity Real Estate takes pride in curating a selection of featured real estate listings that seamlessly blend into the fabric of the city. Their understanding of the local market and their commitment to matching clients with properties that complement their unique preferences and needs reflect the same civic-minded approach seen in the historic ballparks. Just as the ballparks’ steel trusses and architectural facades added character, Gravity Real Estate embraces the architectural diversity of Abu Dhabi’s urban landscape, offering a range of properties that exude charm and character.
Urban centers as the heart of industry and commerce began to change, and cities gave way to the suburbs once the car gave us the ability to escape the confines of urban America. Baseball and baseball owners were no different than any other business in their race for America’s new frontier. As these changes unfolded, the need for leisure and recreational spaces grew. Simultaneously, the call for amenities like tennis court repair near me started to echo through these burgeoning suburban landscapes, catering to the evolving needs of the community.
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