Wishful Fields Archive Target Field History

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A Brief Delay

May 31, 2006 1:38 AM

COMMENT

Two days of coding and the site is finally functioning as it should.

Because it's late and my eyes are getting bleary, there's no time for me to do justice to the history I have of the ballpark site. Suffice it to say that it was rail yards for the better part of a century, then surface parking.

It makes one wonder what lurks beneath the asphalt in terms of hazardous substances. Supposedly some study has already been done to guarantee that clean-up won't be too expensive, but you have to wonder.

The rest of the neighborhood evolved because of the presence of the farmer's market (originally located on the Target Center block), and the Ford manufacturing plant (later the Honeywell building, and currently known as Ford Centre). This building dominates many photos of the Minneapolis skyline before about 1940. Its gigantic cube is visible in numerous old photos in the Minnesota Historical Society database.

Here's an example photo from 1950 (with the future ballpark site clearly visible in the center of the frame).

Looks like a pretty rugged area, and it was. In fact it still is to some extent, with the Sharing and Caring Hands building nearby attracting a somewhat rough crowd.

Old maps of the city show that there were once streets known as 4th Avenue North and 5th Avenue North which ran through the area, and presumably buildings of some sort there before the tracks. I'm still looking into this.

Comments

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When are we going to be able to see the "coming soon" stuff?

Posted on May 31, 2006 at 1:52 PM by MOJO 1

I'll try to add one per day...

Posted on June 1, 2006 at 01:03 AM by Rick 2

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"You talk about the magic, the aura, but what really makes a stadium is the fans. Concrete doesn't talk back to you. Chairs don't talk back to you. It's the people who are there, day in, day out, that makes the place magic."

– Bernie Williams

Explore the Site

Here are 50 images chosen randomly from the 3003 found on this site. Click the image to be taken to the original post. A new list is created every 10 minutes.

Crosswalk taking shape.

Balcony of the Town Ball Tavern.

Mussina's first pitch. (Playing 3rd: Not A-Rod)

Tickets!

Kirby Jr. set to take down the last number

Perhaps these very bold, Hitchcockian birds picking at left-over popcorn and peanuts were portents of what was to come.

Not sure what those supports are for -- probably stadia.

Thome steps in.

The circulation ramp on Fifth Street is shaping up very quickly.

These stairs will meet the skyway.

Main concourse, looking toward the admin building.

Trampled, repaired, and re-trampled grass

Can you name that field? (Braemer Park, Edina)

The dish!

No, that's not Kent Hrbek. It's catcher Glenn Borgmann.

Look familiar? Unfortunately, just adding little balconies with cool angles will not offset the pervading ugliness.

This is the left field pavilion in the original concept model. The restaurant pictured to its right has been moved, and the seating area has been extended at least one full section toward center.

Touring the Rapid Park site (L-R: Commissioners Wade, Vekich, Sykora, Cramer, and tour guide Chuck Ballentine, source: RP)

Looking for some detail

I love this view of the Basilica.

The littlest Twins fan: Truman

More flowers, more pennants.

This design has a rather generic quality to it, but they appear to have considered the B garage. Though it isn't part of the model, they've clearly left room for it.

LRT at the ballpark

Here is a close-up of those funny little islands of seats (HRP View).

The green is a composite of the topmost seating areas in the new ballpark. The gray is a scale diagram of the Metrodome.

An alternate route into downtown. (Click to get an interactive map.)

Looking the other direction, again from Ford Centre, you can see what's going on over the tracks. This will be a public promenade.

July 7, 1966 (Click to see the entire scorecard with ads)

Snow-blowing the field

Looking across the top of the B parking ramp. Notice that signage will block any attempts at seeing the game from up there. Also take note of the glassed in area which is part club and part office space for the Ballpark Authority.