Chase Field’s Hidden Secret: The Ballpark’s 102-Year-Old Component
Arizona Diamondbacks batters have been hitting the sweet spot this season, but even these sluggers may not be aware of Chase Field’s best-kept secret. This other “sweet spot” that fans unknowingly appreciate is an architectural anomaly located in the southeast corner of the baseball park in Phoenix. While this structure may not be as famous as Fenway Park’s Green Monster in Boston or Wrigley Field’s ivy-covered brick outfield wall in Chicago, it plays a crucial role in enhancing fan satisfaction by helping to create delicious fare for hungry spectators.
This oddity is the Arizona Citrus Growers’ packing plant, built for $60,000 in 1924 to process and ship the co-op’s grapefruit, oranges, and lemons harvested from the Valley of the Sun. The renowned local firm of Lescher and Mahoney designed the brick-walled, metal-trussed building in the Mission Revival style, which Arizona Citrus Growers president Frank Avery called at the time, an “architectural beauty that is an ornament to this section of the city.”
Strangely, this warehouse along the railroad tracks became part of the major league ballpark due to a city ordinance with a tight deadline.
“The A Team!” Arizona Diamondbacks Take the Field in ’98: Major League Day for Valley,” screamed The Arizona Republic's front-page headline on March 10, 1995. Jerry Colangelo’s investor-ownership group had been awarded a Major League Baseball franchise and had already selected the location of the club’s stadium, then named Bank One Ballpark, at Seventh and Jefferson streets.
There was only one hurdle to the ballpark’s development. Three of the pre-existing buildings on the site were federally designated National Register Historic Places. Two of the buildings, King’s Onion House and the Charlie Case Tire Co., were not protected from demolition because the stadium owners’ group was not using federal funding to build the ballpark.
The former Arizona Citrus Growers’ packing plant, however, was also listed on the Phoenix Historic Property Register. The warehouse could not be demolished until 12 months of pursuing alternative solutions had been completed. A compromise was necessary, as a yearlong delay would jeopardize the stadium’s completion by opening day in 1998.
The city and the Diamondbacks agreed to preserve the east wall, loading bays, and the south façade of the packing plant, which showcases its distinctive Mission Revival-style design. The rest of the building was removed, which enabled the construction of the stadium within the warehouse. The historic structure wrapped around the southeast corner of what was rebranded as Chase Field in 2005 following the merger of Bank One and J.P. Morgan Chase.
The historic warehouse is somewhat challenging to spot. The best views are from the Seventh Street viaduct that passes over the railroad tracks. Levy Restaurants uses the building for food processing that supplies stadium concessionaires.
“To put it in a poetic way, it will go back to its original purpose,” John Wasson, the project coordinator, told the Republic in 1995. Diamondbacks fans who enjoy snacks at the ballpark certainly appreciate what comes from this tasty bit of historical preservation, even if they don’t know the story behind the century-old warehouse where their food is stored and prepared.
Douglas C. Towne is the editor of Arizona Contractor & Community magazine, www.arizcc.com