The History of Wrigley Field

 

Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs, is located on the north side of Chicago. The history of this location dates back to 1914, when Charles Weeghman decided to build a ballpark for The Chicago Whales which was his baseball team. When it first came to be, it was named Weeghman Park. The stadium was designed by Zachary Taylor and Charles G. Davis. It was built on the site of a former seminary at the corner of Addison and Clark, took two months and cost $250,000 to build. On April 23,1914, the park hosted its first major-league baseball game between the home field Federals and the Kansas City Packers. The league then folded in 1915. Charles Weeghman bought the club that the Chicago Cubs played at and moved them to his ballpark in 1916. In 1920 the field was renamed Cubs Park and Weeghman sold the place to William Wrigley Jr. In 1926 the name Cubs Park was changed to Wrigley Field and the team and stadium were bought by the Tribune Company for $600,000. 

Wrigley Field being made in 1920 (photo from Flickr)

Wrigley Field stadium went through a few renovations. The first one was the outfield walls being moved back to decrease the number of home runs in 1914. In 1927-28, they added an upper deck. In 1934, the stadium’s Art Deco marquee, located outside the home-plate entrance, was added. In 1937-1938 a boomerang-shaped bleacher section was created by the firm of Holabird and Root. Then the two well-known features were added; a hand operated scoreboard and ivy on the outfield brick walls. Later when the Cubs and Wrigley were bought by the Ricketts family (2009), they made a major renovation that was not liked by many. The change was made in 2015, adding a massive Jumbotron over the left-field bleachers.  

Wrigley Field in the 2000s (photo from Flickr)

The Wrigley field was not only hosting the Cubs. From 1921 to 1970 it was home to the NFL Chicago Bears, hosted concerts and was occasionally the site of college football and hockey games and a few ski jumping and boxing matches.