We all have seen the White House, the Golden Gate bridge, the Las Vegas strip and other American landmarks destroyed in various sci-fi movies. And now we have a real-life version of a Wrigley Field Apocalypse, and it's very photogenic indeed.
The idea of a new Wrigley has been debated for years, but now that it's happening, Cubs fans owe it to themselves to make a trip to Wrigleyville to get a good look at the iconic bleachers coming down. Even though we knew it was coming, it's a jarring sight to behold.
A trip to the ballpark Friday morning found a dozen or so people milling around, taking photos on cameras and smartphones from behind a fence on Waveland Avenue. Most of the outer wall of left field already was torn down, leaving chunks of broken-up granite and twisted guard rails lying in piles on a street Cubs fans turned into a giant mosh pit during the 2003 National League Championship Series.
Unfortunately, the workers installed green netting around the fences surrounding the project, forcing the photographers to find small openings or to hold their cameras high over the fence and just take random shots without framing them.
Being a devoted tree climber, I decided to trek up one on a Waveland Avenue parkway for a better view. It was my own makeshift rooftop club, albeit with a capacity of one and no payout to the Cubs.
It was from my perch up high that I realized the Cubs were denying fans a beautiful bird's-eye view of the renovation, while also missing out on a great revenue-enhancing opportunity for the organization.
All the Cubs really need to do to aid the curiosity-seekers and make a little money is set up some temporary bleachers on the street, much like ones they use in football stadiums. They could charge viewers a dollar or two for a perfect view of the wreckage, and maybe put it toward signing free agent Jon Lester.
The Cubs could sell the naming rights to a brewery, sell hot chocolate and hot dogs on the corner of Sheffield and Waveland avenues, and put up a few port-a-potties.
Whether you supported the modernization of Wrigley or not, it's fascinating to see the ballpark resemble a war zone, and TV just doesn't do it justice. These bleachers aren't just any cheap seats; they're a piece of Chicago history, built in 1937 after a 12-year period with no bleachers.
"The old bleachers in left field were the happy target of Hack Miller, Cub slugger of a decade and a half ago," the Tribune reported in '37. "They were torn out when it developed that the Cubs had fewer sluggers who could reach the area than were on the rosters of visiting teams."
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Wrigley Field bleachers now blast from past