BCB's David Sameshima visited Wrigley Field Saturday morning and found quite a bit of activity going on near the main entrance. Here's his detailed report.
Just as I arrived, I saw something was going on just behind where the marquee was located. They were knocking out some of the cinderblocks there. There is now a tarp covering up the southern portion of where the marquee was located, so there really isn't a good view of where this was happening. Then they started cutting away one of the metal frames that held the marquee. They were only doing this on the southern end of where the marquee was mounted. I didn't want to spend my entire visit here, so I decided to continue my walk around the ballpark. More about the marquee area later.I took some photos around the ballpark, just to show you what it all looks like now. There was activity at the bleacher gate. They were loading debris into dump trucks there. It's difficult to really see what is going on inside given the way the fences are set up. There are really only two places to view. Across the street, or standing along the fence, which is set up on the curb. Standing at the fence, you risk standing out in traffic, and getting hit with a cloud of dust from the debris. If traffic is coming at the same time as a debris dust cloud, you're stuck standing there.I was surprised to see that Waveland Avenue was completely closed to traffic, outside of Gate K. This means that the only access for the firehouse is to travel north on Seminary Avenue. CFD did have their equipment parked in back of the firehouse along Seminary Avenue.The broadcast lot has been filled in. They were leveling the gravel that had been put in.Clark Street was being configured for one way traffic, northbound, due to the utility work that is scheduled to take place. This should be interesting, as motorists get used to the new traffic patterns.I returned to the front of the marquee, to realize why the work was done to open up part of the space behind where the marquee was located. This opening is the trash chute, for debris that needs to come out. It's not exactly a good symbol for where the marquee is located, but this is integral to the renovation project. The debris has to come out somewhere.
We'll have more photos here tomorrow.