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 Preserving history Group lists Fenway on "Top 10" list of endangered sites
Posted: Thursday September 23, 1999 08:35 PM
BOSTON (AP) -- With plans afoot to build a new Fenway Park, the fabled ballfield received a boost Thursday from a historic preservation group trying to save it from destruction. Historic Massachusetts put Fenway at the top of its annual "Top Ten" list of landmarks it says are endangered by neglect, inappropriate development or insensitive public policy. Margaret Dyson, director of the small nonprofit group, said the choice of a high-profile, politically charged monument for its list was unusual, because the group typically works to protect little-known local landmarks. But she said Fenway's importance to the state and nation compelled the group to act. "Every once and awhile there's something of significance to the country and Fenway is of that caliber," she said. "People here were saying, 'How could we not list it?'" With 33,871 seats, Fenway Park is the smallest ballpark in the major leagues. It is also one of the oldest, having opened on April 20, 1912. Developers and the Red Sox want to demolish most of Fenway and build a new, $560 million, 44,000-seat stadium on adjacent land. They say home plate will shift 206 yards to the southwest, but the "Green Monster" wall in left field would be preserved as a monument. Neighborhood activists are bitterly fighting the plan, and want to see the historic ballpark renovated or left alone. The new park proposal, which would likely involve millions in public funds, is expected to remain under consideration by the state legislature for the next several months. Dyson cited the recent memory of a wrecking ball crashing through the Boston Garden building as inspiration for her group's stand on Fenway. Historic Massachusetts did not become involved in the fight to save the former home of the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins. "Now I wonder if we could have made a difference," she said. Kathryn St. John, a spokeswoman for the Red Sox, said that the park's inclusion on the list was not an insult to supporters of a new Fenway. "It's a tribute to how important Fenway is," she said. "The team worked with a number of preservationists, and we are very comfortable that our plan honors the history of the ballpark." Detroit's Tiger Stadium, which opened the same day as Fenway, has been slated to shut its doors later this month, despite a National Register of Historic Places designation and efforts by preservationists to save it. The property could become a mall or condominiums, Detroit officials have said.
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