The famous Wrigley Field marquee at the corner of Clark & Addison was removed from the ballpark Monday afternoon, just one day after the 2015 baseball season ended in New York with the Royals' World Series victory over the Mets.
Do not be concerned about this removal. It's being done for a very good reason, according to Cubs spokesman Julian Green, who told me this by email: "We are removing the Marquee to prepare for structural work that will occur in that area of the ballpark this offseason. While the Marquee is down, we will do some maintenance work on the Marquee."
It's a fascinating process that took most of the morning and early afternoon in front of a few curious onlookers, TV crews and one young couple from Little Rock, Arkansas, who were disappointed the ballpark was closed for tours for the construction season. The marquee was originally attached to the ballpark in 1934, so bolts had to be carefully located and removed before the three sections -- the top part that says "WRIGLEY FIELD HOME OF CHICAGO CUBS," the middle with the electronic board and the bottom with a fixed advertising sign -- could be lifted up and off the ballpark by crane.
Here's how it looked as it happened, just after 1:30 p.m. Monday:
I especially like the worker raising his arms as if in triumph once the sign is completely clear of the ballpark.
Here's another 30 seconds or so, showing the marquee being gently placed on the ground:
BCB's David Sameshima was also at this event, taking still photos, and he'll be sending me a complete photoset of this work and other things happening around the ballpark that I'll post Tuesday morning.