NEW Gate 2 Alternate Plan

New Gate 2 Alternate Plan

The Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium, and HistoryOfTheYankees.com would like to present Gate 2 – Alternate Plan to Mayor Bloomberg, the New York Yankees, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, the Design Commission of the City of New York, worldwide fans of baseball, fans of American history and culture, residents of New York City, and especially residents of the Borough of the Bronx.


Our Committee and organizations would like to present a plan which will honor the history of the site of old Yankee Stadium at the intersection of 161st Street and River Avenue in the Bronx. The lowest section of Gate 2 (which begins at street level and rises approximately seventeen feet) is the original section of the historic Gate (the width is sixty-six feet). Completed in 1923, it consists of the same five entrances that were in place and at the same location when Yankee Stadium celebrated its first Opening Day on April 18 of that year. The Gate would assume its current height of seventy-five feet when the leftfield grandstand was extended in 1928.


The top of the original Gate can be seen as the line or seam running horizontally a few feet below the bottom of the cathedral windows. It is at this point that we propose the Gate be saved preserved by separating it from the upper section. For cosmetic and aesthetic reasons, we propose that the three balconies, located near the bottom of the cathedral windows be saved as well, and be attached to the lower section (aerial photographs, taken eighty years apart, show Gate 2 as unaltered…three photographs enclosed).


To provide a clearer perspective, it should be noted that the section designated for preservation, is only a few feet taller than the blue plywood construction wall currently in place in front of Gate 2.


Ladies and Gentleman, every World-Class Park deserves a World-Class entrance, and the lowest/street level section of Gate 2 is perfect; and with its smaller dimensions, structural support would be minimal or completely unnecessary; and the Park could continue to be developed while Gate 2 is made ready to once again allow fans and families into this historic piece of world history, American history, baseball history, New York history, and Bronx history.


*Another option would be the preservation of a portion of the exterior wall/facade, which runs from Gate 2 to Gate 6, and dates to the original (1923) Stadium (the left field extension to 1928; the right field extension to 1937)…or even the “replacement” of the original ticket booths.


Thank You,


The Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium

804-441-2112, 804-426-9911, 804-639-9472

http://ultimateyankees.com/CCOYS.htm

www.HistoryOfTheYankees.com