''Jewel box'' is a term sometimes used in reference to the group of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
ballparks
A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...
built (or re-built) primarily between 1909 and 1915, after the wooden ballpark era and before the modern multipurpose stadium era. These parks featured two-tier grandstand design to take advantage of the steel structural supports and often squeezed inside a city block bringing fans right on top of the action. The "retro" ballparks constructed in the 1990s were an attempt to capture, to some degree, the perceived intimacy and baseball-focus of these parks.
Jewel box ballparks by city
Here is a list of the Jewel Box ballparks, their dates of use as a Major League Baseball facility^ (see note below), and some indication of their remnants, if known:
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
*
Braves Field
Braves Field was a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University. The stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915 to 1952, prior to the B ...
(late 1915–1952) – Right field pavilion and concourse, as well as ticket office, survive as part of
Nickerson Field on the campus of
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
.
*
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...
(1912–present) – Still standing and active as of the end of the 2022 season.
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
*
Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team of the National League (1913–1957). It was also home to five p ...
(1913–1957) – Plaque marking its location. Apartment building on site.
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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*
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the
Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Buil ...
(mid 1910–1990) – Outline of batters boxes with replica of home plate.
Guaranteed Rate Field
Guaranteed Rate Field is a baseball stadium located on the South Side, Chicago, South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It serves as the home stadium of the Chicago White Sox, one of the city's two Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, and i ...
parking lot on site.
*
Weeghman Park/Cubs Park/Wrigley Field (1914–present) – Still standing and active as of the end of the 2022 season.
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
*
Redland Field/Crosley Field (1912–mid 1970) – Plaque and some old grandstand chair seats. Office park on site.
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
*
League Park
League Park was a baseball park located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was situated at the northeast corner of Dunham Street (now known as East 66th Street) and Lexington Avenue in the Hough, Cleveland, Hough neighborhood. It was built ...
(1910–1946) – Ticket office, part of grandstand wall, and ballfield. (Remnant of first-base grandstand was razed ca. 2005).
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
*
Navin Field/Briggs Stadium/Tiger Stadium (1912–1999) – Abandoned for MLB but stood for nearly nine years. Demolition began summer 2008. After plans for saving the field and the dugout-to-dugout portion of the stands fell through in June 2009, demolition continued, and was completed at the end of the year. The ballfield and outfield flagpole remain in place. It is presently known as the Corner Ballpark.
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
*
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...
(mid 1911–1957, 1962–1963) – Plaque marking its location, along with parts of old stairway down from Speedway. Apartment building on site.
*
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer.
Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...
(1923–1973, 1976–2008; significantly altered 1974–1975) – Demolition completed in 2010 for public parkland.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
*
Baker Bowl
National League Park, commonly referred to as the Baker Bowl after 1923, was a baseball stadium and home to the Philadelphia Phillies from 1887 until 1938, and first home field of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1933 to 1935. It opened in 1887 with a ...
(1895–mid 1938) – A Pennsylvania Historical marker stands on Broad Street just north of West Huntingdon Street, Philadelphia. The marker is titled, "Baker Bowl National League Park".
*
Shibe Park/Connie Mack Stadium (1909–1970) – Plaque marking location. Church on site.
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
*
Forbes Field (mid 1909–mid 1970) – Parts of outfield walls and the flagpole exist at the original site; another part of the outfield wall now stands at the Pirates' current home of
PNC Park; and home plate is preserved under lucite in
Posvar Hall
Wesley W. Posvar Hall (WWPH), formerly known as Forbes Quadrangle, is a landmark building on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. At it is the largest academic-use building on campus, providing ...
, a
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
academic building standing on most of the stadium site. (According to a story that circulated in later years, the original location of home plate was in a women's restroom at Posvar Hall, and the preserved home plate was moved so that all visitors could view it. Later research has debunked this story, but did confirm that the preserved home plate had been moved from its original location.)
St. Louis
*
Sportsman's Park (1909–early 1966) – Ballfield as part of Herbert Hoover Boys' Club on site.
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
*
Griffith Stadium (1911–1961) – Plaque.
Howard University hospital on site.
^Unless otherwise noted, first and last years listed include entire baseball season in that year.
Night baseball – lights added
Jewel Box Parks were used during the era that saw the Major Leagues begin playing games at night. Below is a list of when each park had lights installed.
The
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
also played home games at
Cleveland Stadium starting in 1932. They played their first night game at Cleveland Stadium in 1939.
References
{{Reflist
Sources
* ''Green Cathedrals'', by Phil Lowry
* ''Ballparks of North America'', by Michael Benson
* ''Lost Ballparks'', by Lawrence Ritter
* There are also various internet sites that contain photos of the remnants
*