Fenway Park Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Opened | April 20, 1912 |
| Capacity |
35,000 (1912) 33,557 (2001 - day games) 33,993 (2001 - night games) |
| Owned By | The Boston Red Sox |
| Architect: | Osborn Engineering |
|
Dimensions:
Left Left-Ctr Center Center-(Deep) Right-Ctr Right Backstop |
310 ft. 388 ft. 390 ft. 420 ft. 383 ft. 302 ft. 60 ft. |
The stadium is most famous for the "Green Monster", the imposing, 37-foot-tall (11 meters) left field wall, only 310 feet (94.5 meters) from home plate down the left field line. From 1912 to 1933, there was a 10-foot-high mound that formed an incline in front of the left field wall at Fenway park, extending from the left-field foul pole to the centerfield flag pole. As a result of the mound, a left fielder in Fenway Park had to play the entire territory running uphill. Boston's first star left fielder, Duffy Lewis, mastered the skill so well that the area became known as Duffy's Cliff. In 1934, Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey arranged to flatten the ground in left field so that Duffy's Cliff no longer existed and became part of the lore of Fenway Park.
Other notable features include "The Triangle", a region of center field where the walls form a triangle 420 feet (128 meters) from home plate, "Pesky's Pole" — the foul pole down a shallow right field line named for Johnny Pesky a light-hitting shortstop when he once wrapped a homer around it, and the lone red seat in the right field bleachers (Section 42, Row 37, Seat 21). The seat is painted red to mark the spot where the longest measurable home run ever hit inside Fenway Park landed. Ted Williams hit the home run on June 9, 1946 off Fred Hutchinson of the Detroit Tigers. The blast was measured at 502 feet. The power alleys are 378 (?) feet (115 meters) from home plate in left field and 380 feet (116 meters) from home plate in right.
Fenway is known as a hitter's ballpark, especially during July and August when the wind blows out to left field, carrying balls up to and over the Green Monster. However, the 1990 expansion of the press box had the unintended effect of blocking these winds somewhat. As a result, the park has been less hitter-friendly since then.
The park holds approximately 34,000 spectators. This number has increased over the years as seats have been added in what was once foul ground and throughout the upper decks, and most recently on top of the Green Monster and atop the right field wall. Some people have proposed increasing the seating capacity by up to 10,000 more seats through the expansion of upper decks, while others have proposed tearing down the stadium and rebuilding a similar one nearby.
The National Football League's Boston Redskins played at Fenway from 1933 to 1936. The American Football League's Boston Patriots played at Fenway from 1963 to 1968.