the mysterious ‘‘base ball park...

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Spring 2012 15 P hotographs of nineteenth- century Twin Cities ballparks are few in number. Although they appear regularly in decorative and nostalgic contexts at places like Target Field and Butler Square in Minneapolis, these images have never been rigor- ously analyzed. Early ballpark photos are rare resources, valuable tools for understanding the history of base- ball facilities, their design and use. Digital enlargements of four such pictures—one from St. Paul and three from Minneapolis—allow us to date each image more precisely, recover details about the facility and The Mysterious Kristin M. Anderson Christopher W. Kimball above: The mystery photo, long thought to be Nicollet Park circa 1900 its surroundings, and, in one case, solve a mystery. The earliest ballpark in the group is St. Paul’s Athletic Park, designed by Cass Gilbert and James Knox Taylor and built in 1888. St. Paul’s professional minor league teams called Athletic Park home from 1888 until 1892. Charles Comiskey used the park for Sunday games in 1895 and 1896, when playing at his regu- lar grounds near Dale Street and University Avenue caused legal dif- ficulties. During the 1890s and well beyond, Athletic Park was home to semi-pro, amateur, and school teams, both baseball and football, fulfilling its builders’ desire to create a multi- purpose sports facility for the city. The only known photograph of the ballpark is part of a panoramic image dated “circa 1890” in the Minnesota Historical Society’s photo catalog and now broken into three parts. St. Paul’s Athletic Park is the earliest Twin Cities ballpark for which there is a surviving photograph, although, as it turns out, this image is not the oldest Twin Cities ballpark picture. 1 READING THE VISUAL EVIDENCE ‘‘Base Ball Park Minneapolis’’ and Other Photos

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Page 1: The Mysterious ‘‘Base Ball Park Minneapolis’’collections.mnhs.org/mnhistorymagazine/articles/63/v63i01p015-023… · The Mysterious Kristin M. Anderson Christopher W. Kimball

Spring 2012 15

Photographs of nineteenth-centuryTwinCitiesballparksare

fewinnumber.AlthoughtheyappearregularlyindecorativeandnostalgiccontextsatplaceslikeTargetFieldandButlerSquareinMinneapolis,theseimageshaveneverbeenrigor-ouslyanalyzed.Earlyballparkphotosarerareresources,valuabletoolsforunderstandingthehistoryofbase-ballfacilities,theirdesignanduse.Digitalenlargementsoffoursuchpictures—onefromSt.PaulandthreefromMinneapolis—allowustodateeachimagemoreprecisely,recoverdetailsaboutthefacilityand

The Mysterious

KristinM.AndersonChristopherW.Kimball

above: The mystery photo, long thought

to be Nicollet Park circa 1900

itssurroundings,and,inonecase,solveamystery.

TheearliestballparkinthegroupisSt.Paul’sAthleticPark,designedbyCassGilbertandJamesKnoxTaylorandbuiltin1888.St.Paul’sprofessionalminorleagueteamscalledAthleticParkhomefrom1888until1892.CharlesComiskeyusedtheparkforSundaygamesin1895and1896,whenplayingathisregu-largroundsnearDaleStreetandUniversityAvenuecausedlegaldif-ficulties.Duringthe1890sandwellbeyond,AthleticParkwashometosemi-pro,amateur,andschoolteams,

bothbaseballandfootball,fulfillingitsbuilders’desiretocreateamulti-purposesportsfacilityforthecity.Theonlyknownphotographoftheballparkispartofapanoramicimagedated“circa1890”intheMinnesotaHistoricalSociety’sphotocatalogandnowbrokenintothreeparts.St.Paul’sAthleticParkistheearliestTwinCitiesballparkforwhichthereisasurvivingphotograph,although,asitturnsout,thisimageisnottheoldestTwinCitiesballparkpicture.1

Reading the Visual eVidence

‘‘Base Ball Park Minneapolis’’and Other Photos

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16 Minnesota History

Thesegroundswerelocatedonthewest-sideflats,anareasouthofdowntownSt.Paulthatwasat—andsometimesbelow—theleveloftheMississippiRiver.Thepictureseemstohavebeentakentoshowthemas-sivefloodingintherivervalley.Floodswerefairlycommoninthislow-lyingpartofSt.Paul,andthevantagepointonthebluffsabovetheballparkgivesapanoramicviewofbothbanks,lookingnortheast.Theunknownphotographeranchoredtheimagebyplacingthisfamiliarlandmark—atleasttonineteenth-centurySt.Pauleyes—intheforeground.

Inthispictureofthebaseballpark,thereisnobaseballgame.En-largingthephotoshows,instead,afewgawkersclimbingontheemptystandstosurveythefloodscene.Littleabouttheballpark’sappear-anceprovidescluestopinpointthedateofthephoto.TheoriginalGil-bertandTaylordesign,publishedintheSt. Paul Daily Globe,includedacoveredgrandstandandbleachersectionstoseatabout3,000people.Thisphotographshowsthatnothinghadchangedfromthat1888con-figuration.AthleticParkremainedasimplewoodenballpark,enclosed

Kristin Anderson is a professor of art at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, and Christo-pher Kimball is president and professor of history at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. They are at work on a book, ContestedTerrain:AnArchitecturalandUrbanHistoryofTwinCitiesBallparks. Their article on 1910s renovations at Nicollet Park and Lexington Park appeared in the Fall 2003 issue of this magazine.

byitsseatingstructuresand12-foot-highoutfieldfences.2

Whiletheballparkwasnotal-teredmuchinitsearlyyears,thesurroundingsbegantoevolveshortlyafterAthleticParkwasbuilt,andsomeofthesechangeshelpdatethephotograph.Forinstance,theforegroundincludesmanytraintracks,presentatthesitebeforetheballparkwasbuiltandincreas-inginnumberthroughthenextfewdecades.(Althoughfewer,tracksarestillpresentatthesitetoday.)Therailcarsprovideafewcluesaboutthepicture’sdate,too.ThesetrackswereownedbytherailroadknownformanyyearsastheChicagoGreatWestern.FoundedbySt.PaultycoonA.B.Stickneyin1885,thelinewasfirstcalledtheMinnesotaandNorthwestern.In1887itbecametheChicago,St.PaulandKansas

St. Paul Athletic Park (center foreground) in a panorama of the flooded Mississippi River valley, 1893. The State Street bridge bisects

this information-rich image, visually separating the rail cars from the ice house, its roof and cupola visible here. The vinegar works

is at the terminus of the State Street bridge. Ruins of the Eisenmenger mansion loom on the bluff across from the flooded ballpark.

More rail cars, some houses, and the Crescent Creamery, partly under water, are at the far right.

Vinegar works grandstand eisenmenger mansion

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Spring 2012 17

torandsometimemeatmerchantJohnF.Eisenmenger.DesignedbySt.PaularchitectWalterIfe,thishugehomewasnotedforitsfinematerialsanddetails;itsconstruc-tionlastedfromJuly1890throughthefollowingsummer.Unfortu-nately,thenewmansionburnedonAugust14,1892,justayearafteritwasoccupied.Thephoto,whenen-larged,showsthateventhoughthehome’speakedcopper-and-slateroofwasgoneandtheskywasvisiblethroughmanypartsofthebuilding,mostofthewallsandoneofthefourchimneysremainedstanding.Photo-graphsfromthemid-1890sshowthatthebuildinglatersufferedaddi-tionaldamage.Itwasleftasadisin-tegratingruinforadecadeuntileverythingbuttheporte-cocherewasdismantledinFebruary1902.Thatremnantbecameadecorativeele-mentinthenewlycreatedIndianMoundsPark,andtheremainderofthebrickandstonewastakenacrossthecitytoComoPark,wherethematerialswereusedtoconstructbuildingsanddecorativewalls.5

tracksthatwenttothenearbySouthSt.PaulUnionStockyards—theicehousebelongedtotherailroadandprobablyservedtherefrigeratedrailcars,someofwhicharevisibleintheforeground.4

Themostinterestingbuildingisinthedistance,straightacrosstheMississippifromtheballpark.Byaligningthelargebuildingsilhou-ettedagainsttheskylineintheback-groundwiththeballparkintheforeground,itispossibletoidentifytheprecisespotitoccupied:ItstoodnearthesiteofnumerousIndianmoundsontopofthebluffs,anareathatwouldbecameacitypark.Inthe1890s,however,thisdistrictwasdot-tedwithafewlargehouses,andthisonebelongedtorealestatespecula-

City,andthen,inJuly1892,theChi-cagoGreatWestern.Unlikechangesinnameandcorporateidentitytoday,thisbusinessevolutiondidnotnecessitaterepaintingtherollingstock.Aslateas1901,allthreecom-panynamescouldbeseenonvariousrailcars.3

Thereareanumberofbuildingsaroundtheballpark.Some,likethevinegarworkstotheleftandthehousesonthebluffatthefarright,predateAthleticPark.ThisisalsotruefortheCrescentCreamery’sdairy-farmingoperationtotherightoftheballparkandbelowthebluffs.Morehelpfulindatingthephotoistheicehouseneartheballpark’sright-fieldcorner,builtduringFebruary1892.Setalongthetracks—

Gilbert and Taylor’s grandstand, “a model of comfort”

according to the St.PaulDailyGlobe

state street bridgeice house crescent creamery rail cars houses on bluff

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18 Minnesota History

andFifthStreetindowntownMin-neapolis.Thepark’ssmallsize—lessthanacityblock—necessitatednotonly12-foot-highfencesbutalsowiremeshextendinganother25feetorsoabovethatwoodenwall.ThroughthismeshandbeyondthefencesacrossFifthStreet,theballpark’sneighborhoodisvisible,includingnearbybusinessesandhouses(andatleastonespectator—maybetwo—inthewindows).Detailsofthepark’sstructureandoperationsarealsovisible.Fansaccessedthebleachersfromtheback,walkingunderthegrandstand,outadoorway,andupasetofstairstothewalkwayalongthefence.Thisarrangementcanbeseeninadrawingoftheballparkpub-lishedintheMinneapolis JournalinMay1889,when theparkopened.Sometrashhascollectedintheopenspacebetweenthegrandstandandthebleachers.Itseemsthattheaccumulatedgarbageincludesmanyscorecardsliketheonesheld

bysomeofthefans.Thelitterwaslikelyleftfromanearliergamethatdayforwhichclean-uphadnotyetoccurred.8

Theimagealsoprovideswonder-fulinformationaboutthecrowdanditsbehavior.Afairamountofinfor-malityisvisible—likecigarsmokingandnose-picking—alongwithspec-tatorsnotonlyinthebleachersbutalsoontheground,onwalls,andonfences.Thefanswearclothingmoreformalthanweexpecttoseeattoday’sballgames,eveninthebestseats,andsomehavebrought

andthegrandstandcirca1892,ac-cordingtotheMinnesotaHistoricalSociety.Thereisalsoacyanotype(socalledbecausetheimageisblue)labeled“BaseBallParkMinneapolis”andidentifiedasNicolletParkcirca

1900.Carefulexaminationofeach,andofthegroup,revealssomefasci-natingdetailsabout1890sbaseballandcreatesaclearerviewofthecity’sbaseballownershipandfacilitieschronology.7

DesignedbyMinneapolisarchi-tectsFremontOrffandGeorgeOrff,AthleticParkincludedawoodengrandstandandtwolargesectionsofbleachers.Thebleachersphotowastakenfromtheupperendofthegrandstandalongthefirstbaselineandlookedtowardthepark’sright-fieldcorneratFirstAvenueNorth

Giventheevidenceextractedfromtheballpark’ssurroundings,itislikelythatthepanoramawastakentodocumentthelatespringfloodin1893when,accordingtoanewspaperaccount,“onthesectionwheretheoldballparkislocated,nothingcanbeseenbutavaststretchofmuddyfluid,dottedhereandtherebyastuntedtree,afence,orashanty.”Theriverhadbeenris-ingrapidlyintheprecedingweek,upthree-and-a-halffeetinfourdays.Worsefloodingoccurredin1897,buttherelativelyintactcondi-tionoftheEisenmengerhouseandtheabsenceofanyrailcarslabeledChicagoGreatWesternwouldindicatethatthiswastheearlierflood.Asaresult,weproposeadatearoundMay1,1893,forthisimage.6

the three Minneapolis images tellamorecomplicated

story.Therearetwoveryinterest-ingandappealingcrowdshotstakenatMinneapolisAthleticPark,builtin1889:thebleacherscirca1890

Eisenmenger mansion (“For Sale” sign in window) about 1897,

showing far more damage than in the earlier panorama

The fans wear clothing more formal than we expect to see at today’s

ball games, even in the best seats.

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Spring 2012 19

hadownedaone-thirdinterestintheteamsince1889,andinOctober1890heandhisnewpartner,Grif-fin,boughttheteamandasporting-goodsstoreoperatedbythepreviousco-owner,SamMorton.Afterthispurchase,HachandGriffinevi-dentlyundertookamajorchangeinthepark’sadvertisingschemes.TheypaintedoveradsonthefencefortheMinneapolis Journalandaphotographer,amongothers,andmadesurethattheirbusinesseswererepresentedwithprominentadsinthescoreboard’simmediatevicinity,wherefanswouldbelook-ingregularly.Theircross-promotionincludednotonlythesporting-goodsstorebutalsoabicycleschoolinthe

Asitturnsout,thephotographcanbedatedprecisely,basedonthesignsandotherwritingclusteredinitsrightcorner.SurroundingthescoreboardareadvertisementsforthevariousbusinessesofHenryL.HachandAndrewH.Griffin.Hach

sunprotection:inadditiontotheubiquitousheadgear,umbrellasandneckscarvesareseenthroughoutthecrowd.Notpresent,however,areanywomen.Whilerepresentingavarietyofages,thefield-levelandbleachersfansareallmale.

Grandstand and bleachers of Minneapolis’s Athletic Park,

designed by architects Orff and Orff

Crowded bleachers at Minneapolis’s

two-year-old Athletic Park, 1891

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20 Minnesota History

thepark,showingitsbleachersinMay1891andthegrandstand,dateunknown.Butwhatofthethirdpicture?Anearlyownerofthiscyan-otypeinscribeditwith“BaseBallParkMinneapolis,”andtheMinne-sotaHistoricalSocietyhasidentifieditasNicolletParkcirca1900,per-hapsbecauseitdoesnotlookliketheclearlyidentifiedAthleticParkgrandstand.Thismysterystructureistaller,theseatingissteeper,anditistoppedwithboxesontheroof.ButlabelingitNicolletParkdoesnotmakeitso:photographsoftheorigi-nalNicolletPark,builtin1896,showaverydifferentgrandstandwithouttheroofboxes.12

IfthephotographdoesnotshowNicolletPark,whichsucceededAth-leticPark,perhapsitshowsanearlierfacility,Minneapolis’sSouthSideGrounds,usedfrom1886until1888.Althoughtherewasmentionofaroofdeckinitsinitialplans,anotherdetailinthecyanotypeeliminatestheSouthSideGroundsasapossibility:thewritingonthedugoutawning.Awn-ingssometimescarriedadvertising,andthisone,whenenhanced,revealsthenameoftheawningcompanyit-self:“H.J.Saunders,MfrAwnings&Tents.”InMay1889HenrySaundershadawindow-shadebusiness,butbyApril1890hehadtakenoverandrenamedTwinCityTentandAwning.SinceSaunderswasnotintheawn-ingbusinessuntilaftertheSouthSideGroundshadbeenabandonedforAthleticPark,thiscannotbetheSouthSideGrounds.13

playedwiththebleachersview,itlacksthehelpfulscoreboardinforma-tionthatpinpointedthefirstpicture’sdate.Thephotographerwasafewsectionsoutfromthegrandstand’scenter,alongthethirdbaseline,lookingintowardhomeplate.Thestructureandcrowdlookmuchlikeanyotheroftheera,butthisimagecanbeidentifiedasAthleticParkbecauseofthegiganticWestHotelloominginthebackground.Thehotelwaslocatedontheneighboringblock,atthecornerofHennepinAvenueandFifthStreet.

Thisviewallowsagoodlookattheconstructionofthegrandstand,withitscenterentrance,backedbenches,steps,boxseatsalongthefront,wirescreentoprotectthespectators,andsunshadescover-ingtheopeningsatthestand’sback.Unfortunately,thereisonlyahintofthegameandtheteams—justthreeblurredformsonthefield.Butwhiletheplayersarebarelyvisible,therearewonderfulviewsofthewell-dressedcrowdanditsactivities.Fourwomensitintheforeground.Perhapsthisisaladiessection,oneofthecommonadmissionandattendancegimmicksofnineteenth-centurybaseball.InthemiddleofthecrowdaretwoAfricanAmericanfanstakinginthegamewitheveryoneelse.Oneofthesemenandanumberoftheotherspectatorsareholdingscorecards,andtheshellsofpeanutseatenduringthegameareeasilyvisibleintheforeground.

Soherewehavetwoviewsof

oldPanoramaBuilding.EstablishedinApril1891,itwasclosedbyApril1892,whenGriffinleftMinneapolisforChicagotobecometheretailsalesmanagerforbaseballpromoterandsportsmerchantA.G.Spalding.Thebicycle-schoolsignmakesitclearthatthephotographwastakendur-ingthe1891season.9

Otherhistoricalandvisualin-formationdatesthephotographevenmoreprecisely.Thescoreboardshowsseveralgames:whileMinne-apoliswastrouncingSiouxCity9to0inthebottomofthesixthinning,otherWesternAssociationmatchesbetweenKansasCityandDenver,St.PaulandMilwaukee,andOmahaandLincolnarealsolistedonthescore-board.Theassociation’s1891scheduleincludedbothaMinneapolis-SiouxCityseriesandKansasCity-DenverseriesinlateMay.Asitturnedout,thereweretwoMinneapolis-SiouxCitygamesonSaturday,May30,1891—at10:30a.m.and3:30p.m.—oneofwhichwasamake-upforthepreviousday’srainout.Theafternoongame’scrowdwaslarge,estimatedvariouslyasbeingbetween3,000and5,000spectators,accountingforthefansonthefield.Thescoreboardtallymatchesthenewspaper’sboxscores,andwelearnthatMinneapoliswonthegame19to3.TheKansasCity-Denverscorealsomatchesthenewsreports.10

Knowingthedateofthegame,itisevenpossibletochecktheweather,whichwassummeryenoughtoencouragethescarves,umbrellas,andothersunny-weatherapparelseenamongthebleacherscrowd.Theafternoonhighwas80degrees.11

the second Athletic Park imageshowsthegrandstand.

Whilethisphotoisfrequentlydis-

While the players are barely visible, there are wonderful views of the well-dressed crowd and its activities.

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Spring 2012 21

“Ed”Whitcombinthefallof1892.Inturn,Whitcombarrangedforsomenon-leaguebaseballthefollowingspring.OnMay30,1893,thepapersreportedontwogamesfeaturingtheUniversityofMinnesotabaseballteam,forwhichrespectablecrowdsofatleast500peopleshowedup.16

Thatsuccessdidnotlast,how-ever.OntheeveningofJune1,1893,thefirealarmsneartheballparkwerepulled.Alargecrowdgatheredratherquickly,havingseentheflamesandthinkingthattheWestHotelwason

paintedwhite,providingnotonly“aneatappearance”butalsohelpingplayersbetterjudgegroundballs.Therefore,theearliestdateforthephotographisSpring1890.15

ButifAthleticParkhadroofboxesin1890,wherearethoseboxesintheundatedgrandstandphoto(above)?Asitturnsout,theyearsafterAthleticPark’sopeningweretoughforMin-neapolisbaseball.Theleagueteamsfailedtocompletetheseasonin1891and1892,andHenryHachsoldthethen-emptyAthleticParktoJames

Ifitisneithertheprecedingnorthesucceedingballpark,couldthisbetheAthleticParkgrandstand?Ath-leticParkopenedinMay1889withunrealizedplansforrooftopseat-ing;however,earlysuccessandlargecrowdsledtheclubtoerectthoseroofboxesalmostimmediately—withinamonthofthepark’sdebut.Constructedtoaccommodatethelarger-than-expectedcrowds,theseboxescametobeusedastheladiessectionbecause,inthewordsofonereporter,“Ladies...prefertobeoutoftheexcitementandruckuswhichcharacterizesthegrandstandcrank.”14

Anotherdetailpushesthephoto-graph’sdatepastthepark’sfirstsea-son:thewhitegrandstandwall.TheDaily Globereportedthatinprepara-tionforthepark’ssecondseasonin1890,thefrontofthegrandstandwas

“Ladies . . . prefer to be out of the excitement and

ruckus which characterizes the grand stand crank.”

Grandstand crowd, Minneapolis Athletic Park, a mix of well-dressed men and women who clearly ate peanuts

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22 Minnesota History

fire.Instead,itwastheballparkthatwasburning.Talkofarsonandinsur-ancepaymentssoonappearedinthenewspapers,andsuspicionswerefur-therarousedwhenownerWhitcombcouldnotbelocatedandmadenorepairstotheruinedfacility.17

Ironically,itwasaSt.Paulman-ager,JohnBarnes,whosteppedforwardinthelatefalltoengineertherescueofMinneapolisbaseball.BarneshadplayedonandmanagedSt.Paulbaseballteamsstartinginthemid-1880sandthenspentthreesea-sonsinthePacificNorthwest,whereheorganizedbaseballteamsandaleagueatthebehestoftheNorthern

Mystery solved: Minneapolis Athletic Park, about 1890–92

PacificRailroad.HereturnedtotheTwinCitiesinearly1893,andthatfallhebecameapart-ownerandthesecretaryoftheMinneapolisBaseBallAssociation.InJanuary1894hepulledapermitandhiredacontrac-tortocompletelyrebuildtheAth-leticParkstandsinordertoprovideahomeforthecity’snewWesternLeagueteam.Descriptionsofthenewstructurepresenteditassupe-riortoitspredecessor:thecentralgrandstandaccesswouldbeeasier,theboxesatthestand’sfrontwouldbebetterthantherooftopboxes,theseatsandtheirbackswouldbemorecomfortablethantheold“circusseats”

John Barnes, late 1880s,

during his St. Paul days

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Spring 2012 23

14.Minneapolis Tribune,May26,1889,p.10;St. Paul Daily Globe,May23,1889,p.5,May27,1889,p.1.FrankPezolt’s1891bird’s-eye-viewmapofMinneapolisshowsroofboxesatAthleticPark,albeitonlyononesideofthegrandstand;infact,theywereonboth.Whileuseful,Pezolt’srendi-tionisinaccurateinseveraladditionalim-portantrespects,includingthesetbackfromthestreetandthelackofbleachers.

15.St. Paul Daily Globe,Apr.3,1890,p.6.

16.Minneapolis Tribune, Dec.7,1892,p.5,June1,1893,p.7;Minneapolis Jour-nal,May30,1893,p.6;St. Paul Daily Globe, May31,1893,p.5.

17.Minneapolis Tribune,June2,1893,p.5;St. Paul Daily Globe,June2,1893,p.3;Minneapolis Journal,June2,1893,p.9.

18.St. Paul Daily Globe,Aug.31,1893,p.5,Jan.19,1894,p.3,Feb.25,1894,p.10;Minneapolis Tribune,Dec.17,1893,p.23;JeffPrice,“ATaleofFourCities:ProBase-ballintheNorthwesthaditsoriginsinSe-attle,Portland,Tacoma,andSpokane,”Rain Check: Baseball in the Pacific Northwest,ed.MarkArmour(Lincoln:UniversityofNe-braskaPress,2006),4;buildingpermitissuedJan.17,1894(#A3862),MinneapolisDevelopmentReview,PublicServiceCen-ter;Minneapolis Times,Mar.11,1894,p.7.

The photo on p. 22 is from the Library of Congress. All other illustrations are in MHS

collections, including the St.PaulDailyGlobe, June 3, 1888, and the Minneapolis

Journal, May 14, 1889.

Notes1.KristinAndersonandChristopher

Kimball,“TheSaintsonSunday:BallparksandSabbatarianisminSt.Paul,”NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture17(Fall2008):1–15.

2.St. Paul Daily News,Mar.22,1888,p.4;St. Paul Daily Globe,Mar.22,1888,p.2,June3,1888,p.6.

3.St. Paul Daily Globe,Aug.14,1893,p.5;H.RogerGrant,The Corn Belt Route: A History of the Chicago Great Western Railroad Company (DeKalb,IL:NorthernIllinoisUniversityPress,1984);The Official Railway Equipment Register17(June1901):133.

4.St.Paulbuildingpermitsfor365StateSt.,May7,1885(#3709),214DunedinTer-race,May1886(#7322),218–220DunedinTerrace,July1891(#25887),and380StateSt.,issuedFeb.10,1892,workcompletedMar.1,1892(#27090)—allinRamseyCo.HistoricalSociety;St. Paul Daily Globe, Oct.20,1885,p.2;CharlesRascher,Atlas for St. Paul, Minn.(Chicago:RascherInsuranceMapPublishingCo.,1891),4:plates354,363;St. Paul Dispatch,Feb.22,1888,p.1.

5.St.Paulbuildingpermits:July1,1890,for$28,000(#23147),June8,1891,for$14,000,workcompletedAug.4,1891(#25652).St.Paul Daily Globe,Aug.15,1892,p.2,Sept.26,1897,p.11,Feb.9,1902,p.14,Apr.8,1902,p.2.

6.St. Paul Daily Globe, May1,1893,p.2, Apr.5,1897,p.2(twoarticles),Mar.27,1904,p.22.

7.Thephotosarecatalogedas:“Predom-inantlymalespectatorswatchgameatbase-ballparkinbackoftheWestHotel,Minne-

apolis,ca.1890,”“SpectatorsatabaseballgameattheballparkonFifthStreetNorthandFirstAvenueNorth,Minneapolis,ca.1892,”and“SpectatorscrowdthestandsforabaseballgameatNicolletPark,ca.1900.”

8.Minneapolis Tribune,May19,1889,p.12;Minneapolis Journal, May14,1889,p.2.

9.Decatur Morning Review, Oct.2,1890,p.1;St. Paul Daily Globe,Oct.5,1890,p.6,Apr.21,1892,p.3;The Sporting Life,Oct.11,1890,p.1;Minneapolis Tribune,Oct.28,1890,p.4.

10.Minneapolis Tribune,May31,1891,p.13(twoarticles).

11.MinnesotaClimatologyWorkingGroup,historicaldatatab,http://climate .umn.edu(accessedJan.13,2012).Addi-tionalcorroboratingevidenceonthescore-board:the“St.PaulMonday”announce-mentatthelowerleft,promotingaMinneapolis-St.Paulseriesscheduledforthefollowingweek,andthegame-in-prog-ressumpire,veteranplayerandumpireLonKnight,whoby1891wasworkingintheWesternAssociation.OnKnight,seeSt. Paul Daily Globe, Aug.2,1888,p.5,June7,1897,p.5;Minneapolis Tribune,Aug.2,1888,p.2,Aug.30,1889,p.2,June10,1890,p.3,Aug.13,1890,p.1,Apr.18,1891,p.2.

12.Minneapolis Times,June21,1896,p.1.

13.Minneapolis City Directory,1888–89,1890–91;Dual City Directory for Minneap-olis and St. Paul,1889–90;H.J.Saundersad(windowshades),St. Paul Daily Globe,May5,1889,p.9;H.J.Saunders(newbusi-nessnotice),Minneapolis Tribune,Apr.27,1890,p.6.

ofthe1889grandstand.Ineveryway,Barnes’snewparkwouldbeanim-provementovertheoldone.18

Our chronology, then, putsthebleachersphotographat

May30,1891,around4:30p.m.,thegrandstandshotafterthebeginningofthe1894seasonbutnolaterthanMay23,1896,whentheteamplayed

itslastgameatAthleticPark,andthecyanotypesometimebetween1890andthepartial1892season.Thevantagepointforthebleach-ersimageandthecyanotypeleadstoatantalizingpossibility:withthephotographerinthesameareaofthegrandstand,andwithashadow-castingcrowdonthefieldandanumberofumbrella-wieldingspec-tators,isitpossiblethatthesetwo

photosweretakenonthesamedayinMay1891?

Whilethisquestionmayneverbeanswered,thestudyofthesefourphotographscreatesmoreaccuratedates,clarifiesthearchitecturalchronologyoftheAthleticParksofMinneapolis,andclearsupthepersistentmisidentificationofthecyanotype,thatmysteriouspictureofthe“BaseBallParkMinneapolis.” a

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