By Peter von Buol
Special to Inside
When executives of the Chicago Cubs baseball team first announced their plans to expand Wrigley Field, some fans and local residents were worried the changes would alter the atmosphere of the ball park as well as its surrounding neighborhood. Some even suggested the ball park would become transformed into a sterile shopping mall. For many, fears were allayed when the team announced that architect John Vinci, a Lake View resident and one of the area's most passionate historical preservationists, had joined the project.
According to Vinci, who has served as a consultant to the Cubs since sky boxes were added in 1989, the team is intent on preserving the historic feel of the ball park.
Vinci, who founded his first architectural firm in 1969 and whose architectural firm Vinci & Hamp is working on the Wrigley Field project with the Kansas City-based architectural firm HOK-Sport Venue, says that when he joined the project he was, at first, a little bit worried it would be difficult to work with another firm. Those fears soon went away when he found his suggestions were embraced by the other architects and added to the project.
Vinci, who grew up on the South Side near the original Comiskey Park, says he found it important for the ball club to emphasize the presence of Wrigley Field in a living neighborhood.
"When I joined the project, I told them to put some openings into the new bleachers so a passer-by would be able to watch the batters and pitchers warming up. I also wanted them to be able to watch some of the game action," added Vinci.
Vinci says the original plan for the renovation and expansion of the bleachers lacked some aesthetic appeal. At his suggestion, the revised plans moved the columns for the bleacher expansion project off of the street and behind a brick wall so as to maintain the park's architectural integrity. The new design, he says, provides for a more pleasing look.
In addition to helping with the expansion of the ball park, Vinci's architectural firm designed the triangle-shaped parking garage and commercial building that will be built at the corner of Clark and Waveland Avenue. The five-story building will also house a team gift shop and museum that will be open throughout the year.
Designed to evoke but not mimic Wrigley Field, the design for the new structure is a source of pride for Vinci.
"When I first joined the project, the plan was to build a facility that was an imitation of the surrounding buildings — a Disneyland approach. I told the team that the surrounding buildings are not what make Wrigleyville special. It's Wrigley Field!" said Vinci. "My design was inspired by the ball park but it doesn't directly imitate its structure."
The new building will also be a green building. Vinci said he wanted his building to be covered by ivy — a green feature that was added to Wrigley Field in the 1930s — but the project's landscape architect, Peter Lindsay Schaudt, had other plans.
"Different evergreens, such as myrtles, will be planted that will complement the ball park's ivy," said Vinci.
Vinci said he is looking forward to the final outcome of the Wrigley Field expansion and renovation project. He said the Chicago Cubs, so far, have been very receptive to his ideas.
"The Cubs have been very cooperative. I hope they go ahead and when they actually build it, they do it right, " he said.
As a historic preservationist, Vinci has long been associated with architect Louis Sullivan. Past projects of Vinci include restoring Sullivan's Chicago Stock Exchange trading floor at the Art Institute, the Auditorium Building and Carson Pirie Scott flagship store. |
