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Flag Pole - Part 2

June 5, 2006 1:51 PM

COMMENT

With the sun shining and my driving path taking me right by the place, I grabbed my camera today and took some pictures of the flag pole which stands in front of the American Legion in Richfield (just a few blocks south of the crosstown on Portland Avenue).

It's in amazingly good shape for its age, and because it is so tall, it can be seen for quite some distance.

Though there was no plaque, just one look and it's easy to confirm that it is, in fact, the same one which flew over Met Stadium for all those years (see comparison at right).

The image on the left is a detailed enlargement from a photo I took on photo day, September 15, 1974 (the actual subject of the photo was, of course, Tony Oliva). The image on the right was taken today. There's no question that the detail at the top is an exact match.

While it is possible that such detail was common on large flag poles in 1955 (when it was presumably installed at the Met), I'm much more inclined to take B.W. McEvers and his story (see my original article) at face value.

So much of Met Stadium ended up at the bottom of a landfill in Eagan, that it's great to find a piece still being put to very good use.

Wouldn't it be amazing if this flag pole could overlook major league baseball again someday?

(By the way, I have been working on a long entry about the naming of the ballpark. Hopefully I can wrap that up and post it sometime later today or tonight. While there may not be much known about the Twins' thinking, there was a great deal of research involving branding and some of the potential companies. Thanks for your patience, and thanks for stopping by today! -- Rick)

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I think it would be somewhat neat to include the fonts of the previous ballparks. For instance in left field you'd have the 320' (or whatever it is) in the original font that Met stadium had.

For center I would like to have a 7' fence (or wall) as a subtle tribute to the metrodome--hey home run saving catches were a huge key to center field. I think the metrodome "408'" style writing could be in center as another tribute to the dome and all the game saving catches made in the dome.

Then in right have whatever the new stadium design warrants for the measurement mark.

This way we could include an element of the dome but not have to look at extreme ugliness

Posted on June 1, 2006 at 11:10 PM by Boof 1

The met home plate is in the park of mall of america, and We already have a homeplate to be installed. If Pohlad sells naming rights to land o lakes, we could keep the milk carton!

Posted on June 3, 2006 at 5:53 PM by Jason 2

Please, no Metrodome tributes whatsover! And please tell me someone can design an advertisement on something other than that god-awful shiny plastic junk that's hung all over the dome. If they do that at the new place, I'm not going.

Posted on June 12, 2006 at 4:31 PM by Bryan 3

getbocorl

Posted on September 19, 2008 at 11:02 PM by bastaeltt 4

I think it's great that they will use that flgpole!! Go Twins!!!

Posted on October 26, 2008 at 11:10 PM by Scott 5

Hello! dcdfedc interesting dcdfedc site!

Posted on August 3, 2010 at 3:48 PM by Pharmd187 6

Very nice site!

Posted on August 3, 2010 at 3:48 PM by Pharmk235 7

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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 3004 found on this site. Click the image to be taken to the original post. A new list is created every 10 minutes.

The Fifth Street side is pretty busy. There's a small street entrance to the B ramp, then ticket booths and an entrance gate, a rare exterior section not covered in limestone, the wooden screen covering the circulation ramps, the administration building, and finally (just out of view) the interface with Northstar. All of that sits behind the LRT action. How pedestrians will interact with this side of the park is a great mystery to me. You know that Metro Transit won't be letting them cross the tracks anywhere but at either end of the block...

Met Stadium seat colors (click for the complete image)

LRT throngs after the game

Looking from the middle of the third base side back toward the entry door

Shibe Park

Click to enlarge greatly

The view from section 210

There must be millions of details needing tending

Gate 3 ticket window

Not from Moose's tour, but it's an image you need to see. (Click to enlarge greatly.)

The dessert carts came out earlier, and looked even better than last year.

Detail of the Puckett wall hanging

I never think of Ron Jackson at all.

Skyline to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am, stuck in the outfield with you... (click to enlarge)

This is where chain link is being replaced with fencing which matches the plaza

Ballpark elevation diagram, viewed from Fifth Street. (Click to enlarge.)

8:02 PM It's at peak, affecting mostly the upper deck.

Ben took this picture of me (carrying my mostly useless camera) and Twins rep Chris Iles down by the admin building

Sharing and Caring Hands, as viewed from the ballpark site about a block away. Note transaction in progress in the shadows.

Which way to the skyway? Really??

Love the red flowers -- just like the original concept drawings. That NEVER happens.

I still counted 11 flag poles...

Do you need to know the score?

This would be a beautiful streetscape if there were ANY people.

Stairs and escalator down to the platform

Pile driving in progress

Left field bench seating

Killebrew's mammoth shot on June 3, 1967 is currently memorialized on a wall at the Mall of America

A sampling of seats at Fenway Park

Photo by Tyler Wycoff

The reverse angle shows that the signage will only partially obscure views from the top of the ramp. The wall is pretty high up there, so you'll need something to stand on, but it appears that this is one of the so-called "knotholes".

This was from January 19, 2007, when it looked like wonderful things might never happen here.

Town Ball Tavern balcony

Many people will approace the park from this direction and it's a pretty great first glimpse. It features all the design elements in modestly condensed form, and still manages to look like a ballpark (instead of something else).

doors are located near the escalators.