Vacations Blog

“Fenway Park, in Boston, is a lyric little bandbox of a ballpark. Everything is painted green and seems in curiously sharp focus, like the inside of an old-fashioned peeping-type Easter egg. It was built in 1912 and rebuilt in 1934, and offers, as do most Boston artifacts, a compromise between Man’s Euclidean determinations and Nature’s beguiling irregularities. Its right field is one of the deepest in the American League, while its left field is the shortest; the high left-field wall, three hundred and fifteen feet from home plate along the foul line, virtually thrusts its surface at right-handed hitters.”

–John Updike, “Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu” (The New Yorker, October 22, 1960)

Fenway Park

Should you find yourself in Boston between April and October, a trip to Fenway Park is as much a requirement, nay a moral imperative, as walking the Freedom Trail, visiting the USS Constitution or sampling the fare at Ye Olde Union Oyster House. Regardless of your allegiances, Fenway Park remains a link to baseball’s storied past.

Fenway Park opened on April 20, 1912 and other than some additions over its 97-year history — the seats atop the Green Monster for example — the park is essentially unchanged and remains baseball’s oldest active ballpark. However, much like Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Fenway’s age does present some challenges as both parks have many obstructed view seats because of pillars supporting the upper deck. But, to much of Red Sox Nation, these seats, although a nuissance at times and the subject of much derision, are crucial to the park’s overall charm. Most “fans” have, at one time or another, found themselves craning their necks to the left or right to follow a play.

The Green Monster

In addition to the obstructed view seats, Fenway is home to many other quirky features that contribute to the park’s character. The Green Monster, soaring 37′ into the air, is both tempting and taunting to right-handed hitters, and is home to a manually-operated scoreboard. A little bit of trivia: on the scoreboard in Morse code are the initials of Thomas A. Yawkey and Jean R. Yawkey, who owned the Red Sox for some 60 years, 1933-1993. “Williamsburg” is the bullpen area located in front of the right-center field bleachers built for the benefit of Ted Williams (of whom Updike was writing in that article, by the way) to enable him to hit more home runs since it is some 23 feet closer than the bleacher wall. Speaking of The Splendid Splinter, the Lone Red Seat in the right field bleachers marks the spot of the longest measurable home run in Fenway, hit by Williams in 1946 and measured at an impressive 502 feet. Finally, not so much a quirk but a tradition, Neil Diamond’s classic, “Sweet Caroline,” can also be heard before the start of the bottom of the 8th inning. It started as a simple superstition when the Sox were ahead, but became a staple when new management took over in 2002.

If you’re looking for some pre- or post-game refreshments, the area around Fenway Park is loaded with good food and good beer. Boston Beer Works is a favorite of microbrew fans, with 16 beers on tap and located just across the street from Fenway. The Cask ‘N Flagon, whose sign you can see just over The Green Monster, is home to hundreds of black-and-white photos of Red Sox greats, walls lined with HD TVs and some of the coldest beer in Boston**. A new favorite of ours, The Bleacher Bar, lies beneath the bleachers in center field and has a garage-door-sized window looking directly onto the field. For those looking for more late-night entertainment, Lansdowne Street is loaded with clubs and bars: BIll’s Bar, Avalon, Axis and House of Blues are just a few of your choices.

Just a word of caution if you do decide to try and catch a game: Fenway Park currently holds the record for most consecutive sold-out games so make sure you check their web site for ticket availability. For those of you with an adventrous streak, there are plenty of scalpers in the area but buyer beware as scalping tickets is cough frowned upon cough by the local constabulary.

**It technically might not be the coldest, but it is when the temp reaches the upper 90s and you’ve spent four hours in the bleachers.

If you’re planning a trip, check out flights to Boston.