Fenway Park

Fenway Park is a baseball stadium near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. It has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team since 1912, and its only Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise since 1953. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantially rebuilt in 1934 and has since undergone major renovations and modifications. It is MLB's oldest active ballpark.

History

Fenway Park was built in 1912 to replace the aging Huntington Avenue Grounds, which had served as the home of the Boston Red Sox since 1901. The new park was designed by architect James McLaughlin and built by general contractor Charles Logue. It is located on a block bounded by Yawkey Way, Fenway South, Jersey Street, and Lansdowne Street. The original cost of the park was $650,000 (equivalent to $17 million in 2019).

When Fenway Park first opened, it was located in a predominantly Irish-American neighborhood known as the "Fenway." The area surrounding the ballpark also became home to a large number of immigrants from all over the world, many of whom were drawn to the area by the jobs created by the construction of Fenway Park and the subsequent growth of businesses in the area.

Over the years, Fenway Park has become one of Boston's most beloved landmarks. It is often referred to as "America's Most Beloved Ballpark" and has been named one of the "100 Places That Matter" by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Features

Fenway Park is well-known for its unique features, including the "Green Monster" (a 37-foot high wall in left field), the manually operated scoreboard, and Pesky's Pole (a right field foul pole named after former Red Sox player Johnny Pesky).

The Green Monster was originally built as part of Fenway Park's original construction in 1912. It was originally only 10 feet high, but was later raised to its current height of 37 feet in 1934 as part of renovations to the ballpark. The Green Monster is made of wood and is covered in green paint. It serves as a backdrop for the home plate area and provides protection for spectators from foul balls hit into the stands.

The manual scoreboard is another iconic feature of Fenway Park. It is located behind the Green Monster and is operated by two people who manually change the numbers to keep track of the score. The scoreboard is affectionately known as "Big Concave" by Red Sox fans.

Pesky's Pole is a foul pole in right field that is named after former Red Sox player Johnny Pesky. Pesky hit a home run off of Detroit Tigers pitcher Ralph Branca in 1948 that just cleared the foul pole, which was only 302 feet from home plate at the time. The home run helped the Red Sox win the game 3-2 and is considered one of the most memorable moments in Fenway Park history. The foul pole was later named Pesky's Pole in 2006.

Fenway Park is also home to the Red Sox Hall of Fame, which is located on the concourse level behind home plate. The Hall of Fame features exhibits on the history of the Red Sox and houses memorabilia from throughout the team's history.

How To Visit

Fenway Park is open year-round for tours. Tours of the ballpark are available on non-game days and last approximately one hour. On game days, tours are available until two hours before game time. Tickets for tours can be purchased online or at the Red Sox ticket office.

Information provided by United Property Restoration Services.