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Wrigley Field Construction Update: January 1

New Year's Day at the ballpark was quiet.

By Al Yellon
  • 1:58 p.m. View looking south on Clark Street, from Racine Avenue, looking at the plaza building - David Sameshima
  • 2:00 p.m. View looking south, from 3710 N Clark Street, looking at the plaza building - David Sameshima
  • 2:00 p.m. View of the plaza building, from Clark and Waveland - David Sameshima
  • 2:01 p.m. Another view of the plaza building, from Clark and Waveland - David Sameshima
  • 2:03 p.m. View of the ballpark, from Waveland and Clifton - David Sameshima
  • 2:04 p.m. View of the center field bleachers, from Waveland and Clifton - David Sameshima
  • 2:06 p.m. View looking east into the broadcast lot, from Clifton Avenue - David Sameshima
  • 2:08 p.m. View looking east on Waveland from Clifton - David Sameshima
  • 2:10 p.m. View of the utility work taking place on Waveland Avenue, looking east from Clark Street - David Sameshima
  • 2:10 p.m. Another view of the utility work taking place on Waveland Avenue, looking east from Clark Street - David Sameshima
  • 2:10 p.m. View looking east on Waveland Avenue, from Clark Street - David Sameshima
  • 2:11 p.m. View of the northwest corner of the plaza building, at Waveland and Clark - David Sameshima
  • 2:11 p.m. View of the Clark Street side of the first level of the plaza building - David Sameshima
  • 2:12 p.m. View of the plaza building, from 3664 N Clark Street - David Sameshima
  • 2:12 p.m. Another view of the plaza building, from 3664 N Clark Street - David Sameshima
  • 2:13 p.m. The west side of the ballpark, viewed from Clark Street - David Sameshima
  • 2:14 p.m. Another view of the west side of the ballpark, from Clark Street - David Sameshima
  • 2:14 p.m. The south side of the plaza building, viewed from Clark Street - David Sameshima
  • 2:15 p.m. Close up view of the framework for the video board on the south side of the plaza building - David Sameshima
  • 2:16 p.m. Another view of the south side of the plaza building, from Clark Street - David Sameshima
  • 2:17 p.m. The Clark Street side of the front of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 2:19 p.m. Another view of the south side of the plaza building, from Clark Street - David Sameshima
  • 2:19 p.m. The west side of the ballpark, viewed from Clark Street - David Sameshima
  • 3:07 p.m. Manufacturer test car in camouflage paint, driving down Clark Street past the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:17 p.m. View of the plaza space, between the plaza building and the west side of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:18 p.m. View of the plaza space, south of the plaza building - David Sameshima
  • 3:18 p.m. The front of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:18 p.m. The west side of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:19 p.m. The Clark Street side of the front of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:19 p.m. View of the Clark Street side of the front of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:21 p.m. The front of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:21 p.m. The front of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:21 p.m. The front of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:22 p.m. The front of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:23 p.m. The remaining office spaces along the Addison Street side, in front of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:23 p.m. Looking east along Addison Street, from Clark Street - David Sameshima
  • 3:24 p.m. The Addison Street side of the front of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:25 p.m. The front of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:26 p.m. The front of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:28 p.m. The Clark Street side of the front of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:29 p.m. The front of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:30 p.m. The remaining office space, on the Addison Street side of the front of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:33 p.m. Gate D area, at Addison and Sheffield - David Sameshima
  • 3:33 p.m. View of the center field bleachers from Addison and Sheffield - David Sameshima
  • 3:38 p.m. The bleacher gate, at Sheffield and Waveland - David Sameshima
  • 3:39 p.m. The back of the scoreboard, at Sheffield and Waveland - David Sameshima
  • 3:41 p.m. The view of the plaza building, from Kenmore and Waveland - David Sameshima
  • 3:43 p.m. Gate K area on Waveland - David Sameshima
  • 3:44 p.m. The groundskeepers cottage, on Waveland - David Sameshima
  • 3:44 p.m. The connection between the ballpark, and the groundskeepers cottage - David Sameshima
  • 3:45 p.m. Work taking place above the groundskeepers cottage, along the west side of the ballpark - David Sameshima
  • 3:45 p.m. View of the plaza building, from Waveland and Seminary - David Sameshima
  • 3:46 p.m. View of the broadcast building, from the firehouse at Waveland and Seminary - David Sameshima
  • 3:47 p.m. The east side of the broadcast building - David Sameshima
  • 3:48 p.m. Another view of the east side of the broadcast building - David Sameshima
  • 3:48 p.m. A view of the broadcast builiding, with the plaza building in the background - David Sameshima
  • 3:49 p.m. View looking south, from the "Blue Lot" - David Sameshima
  • 3:49 p.m. View of construction materials in the "Blue Lot", along Seminary Avenue - David Sameshima
  • 3:50 p.m. View of the plaza building, from the "Blue Lot" - David Sameshima
  • 3:51 p.m. View of the work in progress about the groundskeepers cottage, along the west side of the ballpark - David Sameshima

Saturday, we brought you a photoset of the work at Wrigley Field over the last week, and promised you that a more complete set from New Year's Day would be here Sunday.

Here's David Sameshima's photoset on a day when the construction crews had the day off. That likely will be the last off day, other than many Sundays, until the home opener for the Cubs, scheduled for April 11. That's just 99 days from now. The crews have been quite fortunate to have good weather for almost the entire construction season. Even the recent snow hasn't slowed them down too much. My understanding from last year is that the only things that really bother the crews are extreme cold (which hasn't happened this winter, yet) and high winds, which have happened on only a couple of days.

Much of the work, unfortunately, has now gone under wraps. The entire west side of the ballpark is shrouded in tarps, as are the bleachers and the work on the north side of the left-field grandstand (photos 47 and 48). The main entrance is still open and viewable, and as you can see in multiple photos here, there's a tremendous amount of scaffolding in place inside the entrance.

In the bleachers, the only work viewable from the street right now is the under-construction patio underneath the center-field scoreboard (best seen in photo 6). I'm also most interested in the green tubing in photo 7 -- that's likely where the cables leading from the broadcast building to the ballpark will be put underground. That's also likely the reason for the excavation on Waveland that you see in photos 9 and 10.

We'll have more photos here during the week.

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