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Fenway Park

At present, Fenway Park is the oldest major league ballpark in use. The home of the Boston Red Sox since 1912, Fenway Park still looks much as it did when it opened. Because of possible fires and embarrassment to the team and the City of Boston, Red Sox owner John Taylor decided to construct a new ballpark to replace Huntington Avenue Grounds. The construction of a new ballpark located in The Fens of Boston began in September 1911.

It took one year for the 27,000 seat ballpark to be constructed. Named Fenway Park and built of steel and concrete, the ballpark had only one level of seating. Wooden bleachers were located in parts of left, right, and centerfield, the frontage consisted of red brick. The 1920s were not the best times at Fenway Park. In 1926, the wooden bleachers along the left field foul line burned and were not rebuilt.

Beginning in the fall of 1933, renovations began at Fenway Park. Duffy’s Cliff was removed, wooden seats in right and center field were replaced by concrete stands and the entire grandstand was enlarged. The seating capacity increased from 27,642 to 33,817. The most important feature added to the ballpark was the 37 foot high wall in left field. The wall was covered with advertisements and at the base was a hand operated scoreboard.

Throughout its history there have been continuing expansions and changes to Fenway Park. In 1936, a 23 foot net was placed on the left field wall to prevent baseballs from breaking windows in nearby shops. Night baseball at Fenway Park was first played in 1947. After the 1975 season, a $1.3 million video scoreboard was erected behind the bleachers in centerfield and the press box was enlarged, enclosed in glass and air-conditioned.

In the 1980s luxury boxes were added where the press box was located moving the press box. Additional seating has been added along parts of the rooftop, down each baseline creating a small upper deck consisting of several rows. New teal and red seats have been added replacing many of the old wooden seats. After the 2002 season, 250 bar style seats were added atop the Green Monster in left field, giving fans a new view of Fenway Park. After the 2005 season, the Red Sox began work on the newest improvements to Fenway Park.

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