original plan for Oriole Park: putting up a new Comiskey Park

In 1992, the Baltimore Orioles opened their baseball season at a brand new stadium called Oriole Park at Camden Yards, right along the downtown harbor. The stadium was small and intimate, built with brick and iron trusses—a throwback to the classic ballparks from the early 20th century. It was popular right from the start. “It’s magnificent in an understated, baseball-only, real-grass, open-air, quirky, cozy, comfortable, cool sort of way,” wrote Tim Kurkjian in a glowing Sports Illustrated review.  

No one knew it at the time, but Oriole Park at Camden Yards would change the design of ballparks all around the country. Its success set off a building boom in baseball, as city after city built new stadiums based on the architectural principles laid down in Baltimore. That design revolution would fundamentally change the experience of going to the ballpark and the relationship between baseball and cities.