Bush Stadium
Indianapolis Crawfords (NAL) (1940) ) (1968–1970)
| |
Bush Stadium | |
Indianapolis, Indiana | |
Coordinates | 39°47′17″N 86°11′19″W / 39.78806°N 86.18861°W |
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Built | 1931 |
Architectural style | Art Deco |
NRHP reference No. | 95000703[2] |
Added to NRHP | June 26, 1995 |
Owen J. Bush Stadium was a
History
The stadium was commissioned by Norm Perry, owner of the Indians, in 1931. He named it Perry Stadium as a memorial to his brother Jim, the former owner of the club who had died in plane crash during a solo flight from
It was renamed Victory Field on January 21, 1942, in response to the onset of World War II.[citation needed] The name was the winning entry of a fan contest held by the club's new owners. The day of its renaming, the Indianapolis News stated that the renaming was chosen "because of its timeliness with current affairs; its popularity among [contest] proposals; and its possibilities for elaborate public displays". While Perry sold the baseball club to Frank E. McKinney and former player Donie Bush that year, he retained ownership of the stadium.[4]
In 1967, the ballpark was sold to the city of Indianapolis, who leased it back to the Indians. On August 30, 1967, it was renamed for Bush, who had served as president of the Indians from 1955 to 1969.[5][6]
English ivy was planted on the brick outfield walls of Perry Stadium prior to its opening.
During the 1930s, Perry Stadium was home to many Negro league teams. These included the
In 1987, Bush Stadium was dressed up in different ways to be used as the stand-in for both Comiskey Park and Crosley Field during the filming of Eight Men Out, which was about the "Black Sox Scandal", the throwing of the 1919 World Series.
Indianapolis also hosted the Pan Am Games in 1987, and the baseball tournament was held at Bush Stadium.[9]
Starting in the 1980s, maintenance problems became more pronounced as the stadium's physical structure deteriorated. In 1985, the city studied what would be needed to upgrade the ballpark in order to attract a Major League team. The initial study indicated that the size and condition of the playing field were adequate, but that seating would need to be increased to at least 40,000, and that the ancillary areas (dugouts, bullpens, concession stands, and ticket booths) would eventually need to be upgraded. A second study that looked at the issue of parking said that between $9.8 million and $52.3 million would be needed for additional parking, with another $22 million for street improvements to handle the additional traffic. On May 9, 1985, Mayor
By 1990 the conditions at the stadium were dire. There were numerous plumbing and water problems among other issues. In a June 15, 1985, letter, the team's chairman of the board described the "terrible state of Bush stadium" and asked that control of the stadium be transferred from the parks board to the city's Capital Improvement Board.[4]
In August 1993, the
The 1995 season of the Indians was marketed as the "Bush Stadium Sunset Season". The final game was played on July 3, 1996, and the first game at the new Victory Field at White River State Park was played on July 11.[4]
In 1997, Tony George, president of the nearby Indianapolis Motor Speedway, leased the property and converted it into a dirt track named the 16th Street Speedway for midget car auto racing. The ivy was removed from the outfield walls around this time. As happened with a similar venture involving Philadelphia's Baker Bowl several decades earlier, the auto racing venture failed (after two years). The property closed and the stadium fell into disrepair, with no apparent future. The Indy Parks Department had control of the land, which was zoned as a park. At the time, it was estimated that renovations, which would include removal of asbestos and lead paint, could cost around $10 million.
Between 2008 and 2011 the Stadium was used as a storage site for cars traded in as part of the
In 2011, it was proposed that the stadium be turned into an apartment complex, and on March 15, 2012, demolition began on portions of the 81-year-old structure.[10] The 138 loft units were completely leased when the complex opened on July 27, 2013. The dirt portion of the infield has now been paved with stamped red concrete, but the lights that lit up the field at night still stand. Much of the exterior façade has been preserved, and many of the historic features, such as the owner's suite and the ticket booth, have been incorporated into the loft apartments. There are studio, one, and two-bedroom units in the complex. The cost of the project was $13 million, of which the city funded $5 million.[11] The Stadium Lofts complex includes both the loft apartments within the former stadium building and newly constructed flats.[8]
Dimensions
Original
- Left Field – 350 ft (110 m)
- Left Center Field – 365 ft (111 m)
- Center Field Corner – 500 ft (150 m)
- Right Center Field – 365 ft (111 m)
- Right Field – 350 ft (110 m)
1945 (home plate moved about 20 feet toward center field)
- Left Field – 335 ft (102 m)
- Left Center Field – 350 ft (110 m)
- Center Field Corner – 480 ft (150 m)
- Right Center Field – 350 ft (110 m)
- Right Field – 335 ft (102 m)
1967 (inner fence constructed across center field)
- Left Field – 335 ft (102 m)
- Left Center Field – 350 ft (110 m)
- Deep Left Center – 405 ft (123 m)
- Center Field Inner Fence – 395 ft (120 m)
- Deep Right Center – 405 ft (123 m)
- Right Center Field – 350 ft (110 m)
- Right Field – 335 ft (102 m)
See also
References
Footnotes
- Gross Domestic Product deflatorfigures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 15, 2006.
- ^ Elena Rippel; Abby Curtin. "Bush Stadium". Discover Indiana. The Public History Program at IUPUI. Archived from the original on January 28, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4671-5469-7.
- ^ "Bush, Owen Joseph "Donie, Ownie"". Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
- ^ "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved 2016-08-01. Note: This includes William Madden; Suzanne Fischer; Paul Diebold (January 1995). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Bush Stadium" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-01.
- ^ "Ivy at Wrigley Field? It was snatched from Indy". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
- ^ a b c d "Stadium Lofts - Downtown Indianapolis Rentals at the old Bush Stadium - Core Redevelopment". Core Redevelopment. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
- ^ "Pan Am Games Schedule". United Press International, Inc. July 29, 1987. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
- ^ "Demolition work begins on Bush Stadium". WTHR. Indianapolis. April 10, 2012. Archived from the original on June 19, 2013. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
- ^ Banes, T. J. (December 2, 2013). "Lofts give new life to historic Bush Stadium". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
Sources
- Ballparks of North America, by Michael Benson.
External links
- Minor league ballparks page
- Decaying Diamond by IndyStar
- Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) No. IN-6, "Bush Stadium, 1501 West 16th Street, Indianapolis, Marion County, IN", 4 measured drawings, 13 data pages
- Official site of the new Victory Field
- Photos of the interior in 2011 from Abandoned Indiana
- Stadium lofts story