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Wrigley Field construction update: March 10

The shrouds are beginning to be removed, revealing more of the project.

BCB’s David Sameshima visited Wrigley Field Sunday afternoon. He says the photos mostly speak for themselves, and added, simply:

The tarps have mostly been removed, in both the left and right corners. They are starting to work on the cosmetics, so it is easier to see how both corners are taking shape.

As you can see (especially in the left-field corner) there is quite a bit of work remaining, including painting of steel that’s now white. It will no doubt be painted to match the green paint of the rest of the 1060 Project. The dormers that were removed to build the upper-deck patio and were being rebuilt are nearly complete.

One of the things the Cubs wanted to do with the 1060 Project was to restore the look of the ballpark in its “heyday,” considered to be the late 1920s through the late 1930s, when the team won four N.L. pennants. If you look at the photos that show the Addison Street side of the park and compare them to these 1938 World Series films, you can see that the team has accomplished that goal:

Yes, there are some differences, but the look is quite similar. You’ll also note that in the 1938 films, Wrigley gates are numbered instead of lettered, as they have been since at least the 1980s. It’s my understanding that the team is also going to restore these numbered gates, beginning at the Addison & Sheffield gate, which will be “Gate 1,” and go around the ballpark west, north, then east, to “Gate 10,” the bleacher gate number which has been there since the latest bleacher renovation in 2015.

The home opener against the Pirates is four weeks from today, April 8. Some things (particularly in the right-field corner area) won’t be ready for that, but most everything else will be.

Now we just have to get the weather to cooperate, something that did not happen last year.