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Sunny Steel Stroll

October 10, 2008 3:08 AM

COMMENT

It was midday yesterday and I had to be downtown so, as I always do, I zipped on over to the ballpark site to get a quick look and some pictures. First up was the roof of the Minikahda building (click to enlarge):

What a view! I noticed a group of hard hats down Fifth Street looking at the tracks. One of those, I believe was our own AP, who offered a link to his photo gallery from the trip. Thanks, AP!

Next I headed down to the street and got a look at Gate 29 "Carew" which is rapidly taking shape in steel:

As you can see, some of the steel supports for the stadia are starting to appear, including the long one for the center field pavilion. At some point in 2010 I plan to see a game from right there:

At one point I was able to stick my camera in and get a look at what's going on beneath the steel (photos below), but then I moved on to the B ramp for a look at the plaza.

They were pouring concrete over a layer of sand over another layer of concrete on the plaza. Very perplexing:

Finally, I headed over to Seventh Street to get a look at the limestone and see what sorts of details had changed. As I walked back, I noticed a fellow in a suit jacket standing down at the corner of Seventh and Second, clearly admiring the work and making his way casually toward me. It was Jerry Bell.

Jerry always seems like a proud papa when looking at the ballpark construction. It's obvious that he's every bit as much a ballpark fan as the rest of us, and he's been the lucky one to have final say on pretty much everything in the design of this one.

He recognized me and greeted me warmly, explaining that he was just on his lunch break and it seemed like a good day to wander down this direction for a look. (On what type of day could he resist such temptation, I wondered!)

He mentioned that he can't see the steel work in center field from his office window and was curious (his office view being more or less the same as webcam #1). He also said again how pleased he is with the look of the limestone, something which becomes more and more evident as the Seventh Street facade continues toward completion in the coming months.

"They're trying to get as much enclosed as possible before winter," he explained, and then confirmed that everything is still right on schedule.

It was a brief conversation. We said our goodbyes and then he continued his lunch stroll up Seventh Street to do just what so many of us have done: peer through the fence, get a glimpse of the progress, and dream a little bit.

I headed back to my day, huffing and puffing from the whirlwind tour, but with my head filled once again with baseball dreams.

A special welcome today to new visitors from La Velle E. Neale's blogroll! Glad to have you with us.

I think AP is in there somewhere...

Supports for the little sections in the outfield.

The steel cage expands.

Supports viewed from beneath. These seats will be just a few feet from the outside edge of the building!

Work going on under the steel.

Gate 29 "Carew" is at right.

Sky through steel.

Very interesting detail starting to appear here.

Glass!

Comments

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You caught me. I am one of the three yellow hats on the right. I wondered while I was down there if you would be out getting more photos. It would have been cool to thank you in person for the site.

Posted on October 10, 2008 at 07:14 AM by AP 1

great pics Rick, thanks AP!

Posted on October 10, 2008 at 07:47 AM by mazaratirick 2

do you know if all of the gates will already be named for twins hall of famers?it would be cool if there is a chance a player in twenty years (mauer?) could have his name on a gate without taking one from oliva, hrbek, etc.

Posted on October 10, 2008 at 07:56 AM by annoying customer 3

so they've already designated a twins great with their respective gates. i didn't know that had been done as of yet. thanks for the great info and visuals. centerfield will be carew...is the plaza gate kirby's?

Posted on October 10, 2008 at 08:51 AM by Tim 4

Nice work, Rick. Each morning when I walk by the site, I continue to be impressed by the size and "grandeur" of the Carew entrance. Maybe it's because it's steel and it's gone up so quick...

AP - I am so friggin jealous of you.

Posted on October 10, 2008 at 10:34 AM by OG Jeff 5

I happened upon this site thanks to LEN III, and I couldn't be happier. This is an outstanding site. Keep up the good work and photographic evidence that we are actually going to have a real baseball stadium in 2010.

Posted on October 10, 2008 at 10:34 AM by Q 6

when I was at the multi foods building for the season ticket sales pitch they said that they had a contingency plan if Burt Blyleven gets inducted to the HOF, the Burt Blyleven Honorary Loading Dock. Overall the presentation was very good, and we ended up getting tickets.

Posted on October 10, 2008 at 10:59 AM by brad 7

Awesome pictures Rick! Does anybody know what those things are wrapped in white sitting on the concourses? are they more escalators or what?

Posted on October 10, 2008 at 11:07 AM by Erik 8

As always, thank you for taking pics Rick.

It looks like the glass will be the same color of green/blue as the ballpark model. I can't wait to see the progress over the next few months.

Posted on October 10, 2008 at 12:24 PM by Lafferty 9

Being in the construction business, I would guess that the first layer of concrete is structural then the backfil rather than more concrete to save on money then the second layer is elevate that part of the plaza. But that is just a guess, if they start doing it everywhere else on the plaza then I'm sure I'm wrong

Posted on October 10, 2008 at 1:20 PM by Design/Build Guy 10

@ Design/Build Guy

Spot on.

Crews will be doing the same thing right next to the pro shop, as well.

Posted on October 10, 2008 at 1:53 PM by Lou 11

Awesome pics, Rick! Thanks! I'm jealous of all you guys being able to walk down to the site...and casually bump into Jerry Bell too.

Also, Target unofficially opened it's doors this past Tuesday. The official Grand Opening is this Sunday. So let the money start piling up for enhancements and additions to our OUTDOOR ballpark!

Posted on October 10, 2008 at 3:11 PM by chuck in ak 12

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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.

Click to enlarge. (Photo by Tyler Wycoff)

Sky through steel.

What has been actually built so far is only a tiny subset of this vision.

First, an overview. The base of the plaza here will meet the base of Sixth Street at Second Avenue.

Not much facade left to be finished at this point.

Indications that club seating (the wider spaced areas above each dugout) will be a major presence in the lower deck

The plaza has been finished off just beautifully.

One more time from the third base side.

The view through a construction "knothole".

Legend's Club, Section E (Click to enlarge greatly.)

The scoreboard terminates the view on Fifth Street as seen from Hennepin

Inside the Metropolitan Club. Classic photo of a youthful Bob Casey at far right. (Photo by Tyler Wycoff)

A closer look at the louvers

Complicated pedestrian crossing

Florida

Locations for ticket machines near the Hrbek outdoor plaza

Two plazas in Spain. (Brad and I were pretending to steal coins from the fountain. We were all just so darn funny back in high school, eh?)

The french fry lights were on!

Gate 29 Carew

I had to hold the camera as far over my head as I could to get this shot, in which the infield is finally visible. It's a spot made for your average Timberwolves player.

Let's be honest and say that this promenade, which will face the HERC plant, won't be the most exciting part of the streetscape. It has to be provided for circulation reasons, but there won't be much to see unless vendors and other attractions take root here.

Workers against green

At the corner of the Pro Shop.

They could not help the Twins on this night.

Walkway connection

Photo by Jeff Ewer

Before the team came out to warm up, Kirby Puckett, Jr. was playing Frisbee out in center.

This is the start of construction on the Northstar platform which will feed under the bridge and to a lobby with escalators and elevators just inside the ballpark's public concourse. Compared to the ballpark construction, this looks kind of puny. But the work just to get the trains to come has been positively Herculean. Future generations will look back at this with awe.