![\"Lane](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Lane-Field-Park-looking-southeast-DWweb.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cDesign ideas for Lane Field Park were immersed in the site\u2019s history,\u201d said Scott Jordan, Civitas designer for the new park. \u201cInspiration came from the original base paths, pitcher\u2019s mound and home plate. Where home-plate once existed, a granite marker was placed with the silhouette and a quote from Ted Williams, who began his Hall-of-Fame career on this field, while the base paths are lit up with in-ground LEDs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those baseball references are historically accurate right down to commemorating a mistake.<\/p>\n \u201cThe original stadium had first base in the wrong location \u2014 we designed it to capture this inaccuracy as a way to encapsulate the unique spirit of the historical park,\u201d Jordan said.<\/p>\n Hailed as a \u201chome run\u201d in San Diego, the new park is part of a private hotel and mixed-use development that represents a 150-foot-wide setback of open space required by the California Coastal Commission for approval of the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan.<\/p>\n Lane Field Park is visually tied to the Port of San Diego\u2019s massive North Embarcadero Visionary Plan, which includes the Civitas-designed grand esplanade that opened in November 2014 just across Harbor Drive. [See Feb. 6 issue of San Diego Downtown News, Vol. 16, Issue 2, \u201cTalent and teamwork transforms the Embarcadero\u201d for more information].<\/p>\n Visual links to the water\u2019s-edge esplanade include the palm trees, planting and paving patterns and site furnishings. To fit the new park\u2019s more relaxed vibe, Civitas also created custom designed \u201cchaise lounge\u201d benches made of ipe wood and stainless steel.<\/p>\n Lane Field Park has a flexible lawn space that can be used in very different ways than the North Embarcadero. You can throw a Frisbee, play catch, or sit back and relax on the open lawn or on one of the benches and watch the sun set over the bay.<\/p>\n Only the first phase of the park has been completed. Another section to the north is planned if the port can relocate parking spaces used by the Navy Facilities Engineering Command at 1220 Pacific Highway.<\/p>\n In 1925, before it was called Lane Field, the stadium began as a U.S. Navy athletic field. Football bleachers were added two years later. There was also a motorcycle and auto racetrack.<\/p>\n When\u00a0Bill “Hardpan” Lane\u00a0relocated his\u00a0Hollywood Stars\u00a0baseball team from the\u00a0Los Angeles\u00a0area in 1936, he arranged for the\u00a0Works Progress Administration\u00a0to rebuild the venue as a baseball park.<\/p>\n The new construction was minimal with no roof, no lights, and not even a backstop, and seating for 8,000 fans.<\/p>\n The first Padres game at Lane Field was played on March 31, 1936. They finally abandoned the field following the 1957 PCL season. In 1958, the team shifted to the new\u00a0Westgate Park, located in San Diego’s\u00a0Mission Valley\u00a0area.<\/p>\n To learn more about the history of Lane Field and the development of Lane Field Park, visit portofsandiego.org\/lane-field.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>
(Foto por Delle Willett)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a>