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A Home Run for Preservation
Thanks to David Marshall for compiling this list. There were many more media quotes, too many to list here.
San Diego rolls up its sleeve and displays a fresh venue that glistens. That's especially true of its most recognizable landmark, the Western Metal Supply Co. building in left field. The red-brick warehouse dating to 1909 was retrofitted to accommodate suites, the Padres Hall of Fame Bar and Grill, a team store and rooftop bleachers. The left-field foul pole hugs the structure's southeast corner.
—North County Times March 10, 2004
Petco Park maintains a link to East Village's past, by retaining the red-brick, Western Metal Supply Co. building. Not only does its southeast corner possess the left-field foul pole, but the 1909 structure with rooftop bleachers will fill countless camera frames for the quintessential Petco Park shot.
"I think it is brilliant to keep that because it ties things into the existing community,'" said Gil Cooke, the president of the New School of Architecture and Design, which is a few blocks from Petco Park.
—North County Times March 27, 2004
The refurbished Western Metal Supply building is proving to be the new park's main attraction. "This building is the magnet for Petco Park," said Steve Violetta, the Padres' vice president of business operations. "People are just drawn to it. It's always held that promise to become for San Diego what the warehouse is to (Baltimore's) Camden Yards, what the bleacher seats are to Wrigley Field or the Green Monster is to Fenway Park. It's a credit to the people who recognized early on just how much of a focal point this building could become to the ballpark."
—SD Union-Tribune April 4, 2004
"I love [Petco Park]," said Tom Green, a producer of "All-Star Baseball 2005" from Acclaim Entertainment Inc. "It's definitely one of my favorite parks already." Green said his favorite Petco Park feature is the incorporation of the Western Metal Supply Co. building into the park and making part of it the left field foul pole. "I think that's a genius move," he said.
—SD Union-Tribune April 5, 2004
There are several suites available to the public on a game-to-game basis. The most popular site is the Western Metal Supply Co. building in the left-field corner... all 12 of the suites on two floors are sold out on the weekends. "Honestly, I think that building is the coolest place in the park," said Steve Violetta, executive vice president of business affairs for the Padres. "Those are our primary game-day suites."
—North County Times April 7, 2004
The San Diego Padres' 42,000-seat palace also has its fashionable quirks. The most noticeable is a four-story brick building, the Western Metal Supply Co., one of the corners of which serves as the left-field foul pole. "The building down the left-field line is terrific," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "There are some distinctive things here that will set this apart and will make contributions to the preservation of the game."
—The Sacramento Bee April 9, 2004
The most distinctive feature of Petco Park is the old Western Metal Supply Co. building, which rises behind the left-field fence at a 45-degree angle to the field.
—San Francisco Chronicle April 9, 2004
One of [Petco Park's] best features is the incorporation of an old building reminiscent of what this neighborhood used to be: an industrial warehouse district. The brick four-story building, which still has "Western Metal Supply Co." painted on it, is part of left field.
—The Arizona Republic April 9, 2004
Arguably the best feature is the Western Metal Supply Co. warehouse, which features three rows of seats extending from it to serve as one of the bleacher areas in left field.
—Contra Costa Times April 9, 2004
Jimmy Carter threw out the first presidential quote on Petco Park, the city's new downtown baseball stadium, on Thursday night. "It's just beautiful," Carter said of the Padres' odd-shaped, intimate new home. "It has more character than any new ballpark I've ever seen."
—Rocky Mountain News April 10, 2004
Reminiscent of Baltimore's Camden Yards, they have used a historical old building, the Western Metal Supply Co. in this case, to add to the atmosphere. In San Diego, they have incorporated it into the design of the park, and a corner of the building actually serves as the left-field foul pole. It's very cool.
—CBS Sportsline.com April 15, 2004
One of the advantages of building downtown is the ability to incorporate historic structures into the design. Petco's best feature by far is the red brick, 95-year-old Western Metal Supply Co. Building that sits just beyond the fence in left field, with a portion overhanging fair territory.
—The Washington Post May 9, 2004
Petco Park instantly has a feature as distinctive as the towering wall - the infamous Green Monster - in Boston's 92-year-old Fenway Park. Also, there are seats up on the roof of the building, just as there are atop a dozen businesses on Waveland Avenue across from Chicago's 90-year-old Wrigley Field. While looking over the top of the Western Metal Supply Co. building at a superb view of the lights of the downtown skyline, you almost get the sense that this ballpark was here before those skyscrapers went up.
—Redlands Daily Facts May 16, 2004
One of the greatest benefits of cultural heritage tourism is the diversification of local economies and the preservation of a community's unique character.
It is to this end that SOHO's appeal to the Padres on the Ballpark project was so compelling. By preserving and incorporating the historic warehouse district in their design it would provide a richer cultural experience for visitors and residents alike, an experience that a new development, however well done, could not provide.
—Reflections September, 2001
Those of you who have attended games at the new ballpark can attest to the fact that the Western Metal Supply building is certainly the centerpiece and focal point of this project. From the stands you can see nine of the historic buildings affected by the agreement and the site on which the once and future Station "A" will rise again.
—Bruce Coons, Reflections April 2004
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MORE FROM THIS ISSUE
Court Sets Aside Port's Coronado Belt Line Lease
SOHO Takes Leadership Role
Disposable World
San Diego's Un-Recovered Past Obliterated & Forever Lost
The Event of the Season
People In Preservation Award Winners
Coronado Ordinance Scores a Victory for Local Historic Preservation
Designation of Coronado Railroad to be Appealed
SOHO's Dedication to Preservation
Eleven Most Endangered Historic Resources
Another Save!!!
New Resources in the California Room
Meet Summer Intern Stephanie Gordin
Chris Ownby
Whaley House Educational Series
ROMP!
A Home Run for Preservation
2004 Annual Membership Meeting
Annual Call for Board of Director Nominations
The Whaley House Interior Restoration
The Verna House Restoration
The SOHO Museum Shop Reopens
A Guide to Modern San Diego
San Diego Modernism Weekend
SOHO Museum Shop at the Whaley House
Strength in Numbers
Lost San Diego
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