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.
01 Stadium Trends by Anna Martovitskaya. The Stadium as a Hub for Moder Society. 02 Architectural History by Martin Wimmer. Olympic Stadiums. Football Stadiums. Other Stadiums. 03 Design Patterns by Inka Humann. Location Strategy. Urban Context. Building Footprint. Spectator Accessibility. Grandstands and Tiers. Seating Balustrades. VIP Lounges and Boxes. Structure and Support Systems. Separation of Platform / Field. Lighting and Illumination. 04 Buildings and projects. Olympic and National Stadiums. 01 Olympistadium, Berlin (Germany). 02 Olympic Velodrome, Athens (Greece). 03 Olympic Stadium, Kiev (Ukraine). 04 National Stadium, Warsaw (Poland). 05 National Stadium, Beijing (China). 06 Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília (Brazil). Football Stadiums. 07 Arena Amazônia, Manaus (Brazil). 08 Estádio Governador Magalhaes Pinto, Belo Horizonte (Brazil). 09 Soccer City, Johannesburg (South Africa). 10 Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban (South Africa). 11 Pancho Arena, Felcsút (Hungary). 12 Waldstation, Frankfurt (Germany). 13 Rheistadion, Düsseldorf (Germany). 14 Allianz Arena, Munich (Germany). 15 Allianz Riviera, Nice (France). 16 Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain (United Arab Emirates). Other Stadiums. 17 VTB Ice Palace, Moscow (Russia). 18 Palace of Water Sports, Kazan (Russia). 19 National Aquatic Centre, Beijing (China). 20 Century Lotus Sports Park, Forshan (China). 21 Mecedes Benz Arena, Berlin (Germany). 22 Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne (Australia). 05 Drawing Archive. Estádio Municipal de Braga, Braga (Portugal). Big Eye Stadium, Oita (Japan). Baltic Arena, Gdansk (Poland). Müngersdorfer Stadium, Cologne (Germany). Fritz-Walter-Stadium, Kaiserlautern (Germany). Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow (Russia). Index of architects and engineers. Index of places.
In Modern Coliseum, Benjamin D. Lisle tracks changes in stadium design and culture since World War II. Featuring over seventy-five images documenting the transformation of the American stadium over time, Modern Coliseum will be of interest to a variety of readers, from urban and architectural historians to sports fans.