Last week the park commemorating the site of Lane Field was dedicated. It sits at the corner of North Harbor Drive and West Broadway. The site was once home to the Pacific Coast League Padres. For years it was a parking lot and for the last several it's been under construction as bay front hotels were built around it. A couple years ago while on jury duty I went looking for the Lane Field plaque and found it, hidden from the public under a crate.
Now after a $5 million dollar renovation the area has been turned into a park along side the port. I ate two hot dogs and took a jog around downtown this evening. I stopped off at the park for the first time since it's re-dedication. It's beautiful. In place of the rubber of the mound is a light and at home plate a three foot tall monument with a quote form Ted Williams etched in it. Behind home plate for all to see is the Lane Field plaque.
Baseball legacy kept at Lane Field | UTSanDiego.com
The park consists of illuminated markers where the bases, baselines and pitcher's mound stood from 1936 to 1958. There's a monument with a quote from Williams, the outline of the batter's boxes and a historic plaque placed elsewhere at the site in 2003.
In the outfield are wooden lounge chairs and one day in the coming years they hope to have a statue of Ted Williams in Left Field too. If you're in the area, I recommend stopping by, especially in the evening when it is fully illuminated.
While looking around taking pictures a guy told me to go to the east side of Petco Park and a neighboring building had pictures of Lane Field hung upon it. He didn't do a very good job describing where it was, so when I continued my run to the ballpark, I couldn't find them. Instead I took a few more photos of the Petco Park while peeking through the gates, wondering if I'd be around when it too was replaced by a plaque and public park. Probably not.