Eastlake Ballpark- A Sense of Place in an Odd Way

Eastlake Ballpark
Originally uploaded by jmharper.

One important thing in the design and siting of a ballpark is that it conveys a sense of place. It took me a while to put a name to it, but it is something I've been thinking and feeling all along. Most of my favorite parks have a sense of place, or that THING that helps you identify the ballpark with the city it is in.

The Eastlake Ballpark, in suburban Cleveland, is a nice enough park, with about 6,000 chair seats between the foul poles, a seating berm in rightfield, and a small bleachers in left field. What struck me most about the place was that it blended in with it's surroundings quite well.

It is located just off the interstate in what is basically an office park. When I visited there with my family, we parked at an office building a few hundred yards behind first base. Walking up to the ballpark, we got the view you see in the picture.

Take away the light standards, and you are looking at an office/warehouse, just like what you would see in the suburbs of any city. I was amazed at how much the park looked like it belonged in the neighborhood! Basic single story brick exterior with office windows, and a taller windowless wall behind it. Even the "tombstone" sign looks more like an office than a ballpark. It also acts like an office building, as the local tourism office is a tenant of the offices behind the first base line.

So, in a very odd way, you get that sense of place as you walk up to the ballpark. You are wearing a ballcap and holding a ticket, but in a strange way, it feels like going to work...