Oriole Park @ Camden Yards
Source- The Idea Logical Company
Address- 333 West Camden Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Team- Baltimore Orioles
Year Opened- 1992
Capacity- 48,876
Surface- Grass
Camden Yards is arguably the most influential ballpark built since Shibe Park and Forbes Field pioneered the modern fireproof baseball stadium in 1909.
In the spirit of Shibe and its immediate successors -- the 14 classic parks of 1909 to 1923 - Camden Yards uses a steel structural system, a brick exterior, and an angular geometry. More than any other stadium in nearly seven decades before it, this 48,000-seat park reflects an urban context.
To a great degree, it takes the shape of its site, and it keeps its right and center field seats low to allow dramatic downtown skyline views and an uninterrupted vista of the restored historic B&O warehouse just across Eutaw Street.
That thoroughfare has been turned into a pedestrian plaza, enlivened by shops and eateries on the warehouse's ground floor, and by Boog Powell's outdoor barbecue stand. Team offices, service spaces, and a private club occupy the other warehouse floors. The warehouse is a formidable challenge for lefty sluggers.
Inside, it is the first big-league park since Ebbets Field to have an outfield wall made up entirely of angled straight wall segments.
Like Ebbets, it is a good home run park, although not to such an extreme degree. However, it cuts down on other forms of hits, and is thus something of a pitcher's park.
It is the overall angularity of form and structure that gives Camden Yards its old-fashioned character, and sets it apart so dramatically from its predecessors.
The use of steel columns, beams and trusses is another reason that Camden Yards feels like a classic park, and the later retro ballparks have continued to use that structural material.
Its seating proximity to the field is the best of the post-Skydome parks, and it seats 48,000. The large scoreboard in right-center, designed by an artist, and the ads on the outfield walls also contribute to the park's old-time feel.
Source- The Idea Logical Company
