Camden Yards

The Idea Behind the First "Retro-Modern" Ballpark

The stadium that changed the world of baseball, through its architecture. Oriole Park at Camden Yards sometimes referred to as Camden Yards or Oriole Park blazed a trail for pure baseball venues in downtown urban settings, igniting the rest of the league to follow suit.

In the 1980's the Baltimore Orioles played in Memorial Stadium which also housed the Baltimore Colts, a football team. The stadium failed to suit either of the teams needs so the Colts left for greener pastures in Indianapolis (Now the Indianapolis Colts). The city feared losing its lone remaining team so a new stadium was to be commissioned to secure the Orioles in Baltimore. This new stadium is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Construction of the ballpark began on June 28, 1989, and finished for Opening Day on April 6, 1992.

The new ballpark now only caters to The Oriole's needs, its sole function. The players and fans alike enjoy the new architecture of the field. The Baltimore Sun interviewed Cal Ripken Jr. after opening day in 1992. He said that immediately you forget about other stadiums, this one had a charisma about it, even though no games had been played in it yet. The architecture wasn't designed to be a world wonder or just another stadium. Instead, it was going for the essence of baseball, "old-fashioned, intimate and irregular" ballpark. Manager Buck Showalter said, "By embracing the past, it became the ballpark of the future."

Camden Yards has even featured in films and tv shows because of its iconic architecture. In the film Dave, Dave while impersonating the President of the United States, throws out the ceremonial first pitch at Camden Yards. The President is even wearing an Orioles jacket. The skyline and warehouse can be seen in the background.

Camden Yards Location

The Oriole's ballpark is located in downtown Baltimore, 333 W Camden St. Baltimore, MD, steps from the Inner Harbor, the central point of the city turning the ballpark into a symbol for the city and its people. It is tucked into the dense urban environment. the B&O rail station located next to the ballpark also helps transportation to and from the game for fans.

The stadium is a few blocks from the Inner Harbor, the hub of the city of Baltimore

The Architecture of Camden Yards

The architecture of Camden Yards is in part to Janet Marie Smith, who was the Oriole's design director and responsible for overseeing the design of a 'retro-modern' ballpark. It was her idea to incorporate the old B&O warehouse into the design, leading the architects, Ben Barnert and Joe Spear, to emulate the old warehouse's brick facades into the field's own design. The ballpark red brick matches that on the warehouse and the green steel trusses are reminiscent of older ballparks. The stadium also has a stone base like that of the warehouse, giving the stadium a strong foundation that seems to have lasted since the early 1900's even though the ballpark was completed in 1992.

The plot of land that the stadium was built on also impacted the architecture of the stadium as well as keeping the warehouse gave the field a diamond shape. Older ballparks from the early 1900's had this style, the game can swing drastically depending on the bounce of the against one of the corners.

The outfield wall is not a perfect arc, instead, the wall has corners, and the left and right field walls are different distances from home plate.

Inside Camden Yards

Inside of Camden Yards, the fans are closer to the game than in previous stadiums. Every seat has a great view of the game, increasing their enjoyment of the game without having them pay more to sit closer.

Publications

For Opening Day in 1992, Camden Yards has been regarded by baseball fans around the country as a triumph for the sport. In the blog by Michael Summers for MSB architects, The Architecture of Camden Yards, Summers describes the significance of the architecture of Camden Yards and how it impacted the rest of the league. I think the argument is completely sound, ballparks imitated the style of Camden Yards, and imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I also enjoyed the bit about how most of the 45,971 seats in the ballpark are not all green, but two seats are orange marking the landing spots of home runs by two Hall of Fame Orioles; Eddie Murray’s 500th home run and Cal Ripken Jr.’s 287th home run, breaking the record for home runs by a shortstop.

This article from the Baltimore Sun analyzes Camden Yards over its impact on the architecture of baseball. It explains how the stadium combines the city of Baltimore and the sport of baseball together seamlessly. The stadium joins the "green cathedrals" of Fenway and Wrigley, which perfectly describes how the stadium becomes a sanctuary for the sport and its spectators. The stadium is also sunk in 18 1/2 feet to keep its scale in the surroundings, which becomes unnoticed by its architecture of structure from the brick and archways. And just because the stadium has a retro design does not mean it lacks modern amenities, Camden Yards has suites, a pavilion and modern team facilities.

Camden Yards is also featured in numerous print publications. The Architecture of Baltimore: An Illustrated History describes how the buildings in Baltimore shaped the history of Baltimore. Camden Yards revitalized the city in the early 1990's. The vital working-class culture of Baltimore connects with the stadium as a symbol of the city's perseverance. The use of the warehouse at Camden Yards mimics the city's shift from rail and manufacturing to businesses of the 21st century.

Ballpark: Camden Yards and the Building of an American Dream also examines the significance of Camden Yards on the sport of baseball and the city of Baltimore. It describes how the quirky charm of the ballpark rivals those of Wrigley and Fenway. It also discusses the debate between architect wanting a more modern architecture and the ball club who wanted a retro theme, which eventually became the stadium. The book also adds that during construction, if a worker referred to the project as a stadium, they were fined $5. This was because the project wasn't like ballparks of the day that were played in multi-purpose stadiums, this was a pure baseball ballpark.

My Personal Anecdote

Walking into the gates at Eutaw St. I caught my first glimpse of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. My left side walled by the towering B&O warehouse; my right opened into the heart of the field. The ballpark had an aura of stalwartness to it, that no act of man was going to move it from its foundations. The walls of brick anchored this belief. It was not a cookie cutter stadium. The irregularities of the iconic warehouse, the arched entryways and even the real grass and dirt made Camden Yards seemed specific to this stadium alone. Looking from the right field foul pole, the field had a sense that at any moment both teams could exit their dugouts and start Game 7 of the World Series, the stadium nestled a sense of grandeur that few stadiums can imitate. In my sketch, I try to emulate this sense of grandeur, from the steadfast warehouse to the idiosyncratic details of the Camden Yards, a ballpark rooted in the past yet molding the future of baseball stadiums.

Bibliography

Photos

"Camden Yards Ballpark Blueprint Poster." The Stadium Shoppe. LONE STAR TEMPLATES, n.d. Web.

Cook, Rick. "Oriole Park at Camden Yards." Cook & Son: Stadium Views: Oriole Park at Camden Yards. N.p., n.d. Web.

Crouse, Richard. "Photo Gallery." Quality Aerial Photography and Remote Sensing Since 1990. N.p., n.d. Web.

Meoli, Jon. "Orioles Unveil Logo for 25th Anniversary Season of Camden Yards." Baltimoresun.com. Baltimore Sun, 04 Nov. 2016. Web.

“Model for Urban Ballparks.” Edited by Ben Groff, Community Architect, 1 + 5 Is Changing America, 10 Apr. 2015, architect506.rssing.com/chan-11528350/all_p9.html.

Parker, Steven. "Oriole Park at Camden Yards Parking." Baltimore Parking. Baltimore Parking, n.d. Web.

"Photo Gallery: Celebrating a Quarter Century of Camden Yards." POPULOUS. Populous, 01 June 2017. Web.

Shear, Megan. "Camden Yards Trip Preview." SECTION 331. N.p., 24 Apr. 2016. Web.

Smith, Mike. "Oriole Park at Camden Yards." Oriole Park at Camden Yards. BALLPARKS, Nov. 2005. Web.

Sterner, Robert. "Road Trip 2013." Sterner Family. N.p., 18 June 2013. Web.

Zay, Libby. "Oriole Park at Camden Yards: Baseball Gameday Guide." MapQuest Travel. N.p., 31 Aug. 2015. Web.

Articles/Books

Richmond, Peter. Ballpark: Camden Yards and the Building of an American Dream. Simon and Schuster, 1993.

Hayward, Mary Ellen., and Frank R. Shivers. The Architecture of Baltimore: An Illustrated History. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004.