Ballpark
Baseball in the American City
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- £9.49
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- £9.49
Publisher Description
An exhilarating, splendidly illustrated, entirely new look at the history of baseball: told through the stories of the vibrant and ever-changing ballparks where the game was and is staged, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic.
From the earliest corrals of the mid-1800s (Union Grounds in Brooklyn was a "saloon in the open air"), to the much mourned parks of the early 1900s (Detroit's Tiger Stadium, Cincinnati's Palace of the Fans), to the stadiums we fill today, Paul Goldberger makes clear the inextricable bond between the American city and America's favorite pastime. In the changing locations and architecture of our ballparks, Goldberger reveals the manifestations of a changing society: the earliest ballparks evoked the Victorian age in their accommodations--bleachers for the riffraff, grandstands for the middle-class; the "concrete donuts" of the 1950s and '60s made plain television's grip on the public's attention; and more recent ballparks, like Baltimore's Camden Yards, signal a new way forward for stadium design and for baseball's role in urban development. Throughout, Goldberger shows us the way in which baseball's history is concurrent with our cultural history: the rise of urban parks and public transportation; the development of new building materials and engineering and design skills. And how the site details and the requirements of the game--the diamond, the outfields, the walls, the grandstands--shaped our most beloved ballparks.
A fascinating, exuberant ode to the Edens at the heart of our cities--where dreams are as limitless as the outfields.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
For many, stepping into a baseball stadium for the first time is an American rite of passage. Paul Goldberger brings that sense of wonder (along with an architect’s trained eye) to this history of the ubiquitous structure. Starting with the earliest New York venues, which by modern standards looked more like a grandstand at a county fair, Goldberger looks for the signposts that mark the structure’s evolution amidst ongoing urban sprawl. He discusses the wedged-in charm of Ebbets Field, the cookie-cutter multipurpose structures of the 1970s, and a return to basics in the late 20th century. A renowned architecture critic, Goldberger digs into the planning and design of these landmarks with an expert’s skill. The look at Baltimore’s Camden Yards, which revitalized the art of the ballpark, is a masterclass in urban planning, architectural design, and sports business, all rolled into one. Whether your passion is baseball or buildings, Ballpark is truly something to behold.
