Boston University's Westward Expansion: Braves Field and the Creation of BU’s West Campus
Authors Note: This article was originally written for a course in Boston University's Preservation Studies M.A. program. It was later presented at the SABR 50 Convention in Baltimore, and the Historic New England Summit in Worcester, MA in 2022.
Introduction
Tucked away in Boston University’s West Campus is a unique piece of American history.
What is now Nickerson Field, home to BU soccer and lacrosse teams, was once Braves Field, a Major League ballpark where Babe Ruth slugged some of the last home runs of his legendary career. You would not know this just by walking by, however. The stadium has been the subject of an adaptive reuse project, so the site has been given a new purpose and new meaning, but some of the original historic character remains. The transformation of Braves Field into Nickerson Field is a unique example of adaptive reuse, because it happened over an extended period of time and lacked a complete design plan from the outset. Despite this, the project turned out to be a real success for the school. Analyzing the transformation further will shed light on the evolution of Boston University’s campus and provide valuable insight for future adaptive reuse and urban planning decisions.
Historical Overview
Brief Overview of Braves Field, 1915-1953
On August 15, 1915, the “perfect ballpark” opened to a crowd of 46,000 fans. Located on Gaffney Street in Boston, the park was home to the Boston Braves, the National League franchise fresh off of a World Series championship in 1914. After purchasing the team in 1912, new Braves owner James E. Gaffney believed the club needed a new ball field to call home. Gaffney purchased land that, at the time, was home to the Allston Golf Club. Once the team won the World Series in 1914, Gaffney committed to building the park. Construction began in March 1915, and was completed that August. Named Braves Field, the new stadium was a phenomenon, simultaneously the first of a new breed of “super stadiums”, while being the last of the old “concrete-and-steel” parks.
Gaffney had a vision for his ballpark that unfortunately few others were able to fully understand. The stadium featured the largest playing surface in Major League Baseball, devised by Gaffney because he had seen fan interference alter the outcome of games. The press and some fans refused to accept that rationale, and instead complained about poor sight lines and their distance from the field. Furthermore, a field designed with a large playing surface became outdated soon after the field opened, as fans became more interested in seeing home runs than watching low scoring pitchers duels. Braves Field suffered greatly from this, as players were unable to hit the ball long enough to clear it’s fences- it took seven years for the first home run to be hit at the park. The team took the criticism from fans to heart, and altered the stadium continually throughout their time in Boston. They moved the fences in and back out in attempts to change the number of home runs hit, and once, in the 1940’s, redug the entire field in an attempt to improve the sight lines. Stadium structures included two large grandstands, one along the right field line and one along the left, a large grandstand behind home plate and around the infield, and a small bleacher in right field, which would eventually gain the nickname “the Jury Box.” Named for the poor attendance that would eventually doom the Braves, the Jury Box got its’ moniker when a sportswriter observed just 12 fans sitting in the bleachers. When the stadium was initially built, there were plans to put a second deck atop the home plate grandstand, but these plans never materialized.
Aside from the seating areas, the lot also contained another building, used as both office space and as an entry point for fans. The building, designed in the Spanish Colonial style of architecture, had office space on its top level, and open archways on the bottom. The Braves ran their front office out of this building, including a large open space in the middle of the building from which they ran all of their scouting operations and oversaw their minor league teams. In the open archways were ticket booths, where fans paid for their seats to the game. The Braves devised a system of trapdoors in the buildings, so that money collected at the ticket booths could be sent directly upstairs to the accounting department.
Unfortunately for the Braves, they were unable to hold the top spot in the hearts of most baseball-loving Bostonians. The tides began to shift in 1933, when Tom Yawkey purchased the Red Sox. Yawkey was incredibly wealthy, and used his resources to sign aging superstars to high-dollar contracts. Fans turned out to Fenway Park in droves to see stars like Jimmie Foxx as well as up and coming talents such as Ted Williams. Similar ventures for the Braves, such as the signing of legend Babe Ruth in 1935, failed to draw the same crowds. Attendance at Braves Field dwindled throughout the next two decades, with a few exceptions, such as in 1948 when the team made the World Series. After consecutive seasons with the lowest attendance in the National League, the Braves announced their move to Milwaukee on March 13, 1953, a date known forever to Boston Braves fans as “Black Friday”.
Boston University Purchase and Plans for Reuse
The Braves 1953 exodus to Milwaukee proved to be perfect timing for Boston University. Up to this point, BU had played their football games at a field in Weston, Massachusetts, about a 30 minute train ride away from Boston. In the early summer of 1953, the State of Massachusetts took the field and surrounding land by eminent domain, for the construction of State Route 128. It was an incredible stroke of luck for both sides. BU was in need of a football stadium, and one happened to become available right next to their campus. For the Braves ownership, an eager buyer appeared for their unique piece of property. The school and the team came together over that summer and made a deal for the 10 acre plot of land, which included the stadium as well as the clubhouse building along Gaffney Street. The transaction officially closed on July 30, 1953, when the school paid Perini $430,000 for the lot. Braves Field now belonged to BU.
Boston University immediately realized the opportunities that Braves Field offered the campus, and throughout the years, the school has devised a number of ideas for how they can reuse the site. Shortly after the University acquired the field in 1953, an article ran in the Boston University newspaper laying out some early ideas for the property. BU envisioned the site as the central location for their athletic facilities, planning to host its football, baseball, track, swimming, fencing, wrestling, and tennis teams on the grounds. The school foresaw right away that tearing down most of the existing structures relating to the field would be necessary to achieve their vision for the site. Then Athletic Director Aldo T. Donelli suggested that “the old will make way for the new” in regards to removing the structures. A statement from University President Harold C. Case in 1953 envisioned the Field's role as a multi-use site, hoping that commencement, physical education, and other events could take place on the field. During the early 2000's, in planning what eventually became the John Hancock Student Village, there was consideration in incorporating the field into the plans, potentially to fully enclose the playing surface with another dormitory, or to remove the remaining structures and build something in their place.
Major Changes by BU
Boston University began molding the Braves Field site into their own almost immediately after the purchase. This began as an almost grassroots effort, with the BU Football players and coaches working around their practice schedule to overhaul the playing surface from a baseball diamond to a football field. Over the next few decades, Boston University transformed the Braves Field site through what Paul Rinaldi, the University’s Assistant Vice President for Planning, referred to as “a junk shop of approaches to solve for a very dense campus.”
In 1955, the school invested in improvements to Braves (newly renamed Nickerson) Field, altering the remaining grandstand and beginning the demolition of those they chose to remove. The one structure that has remained mostly unchanged since Boston University’s purchase of the site is the original right field grandstand. Walking in the concourse underneath the grandstand feels like a time capsule, as it appears almost exactly as it did when the Braves were in town. Paul Rinaldi assumed that much of the plumbing under the grandstand has not been replaced since BU acquired the field. Aside from minor repairs to the concrete when necessary, the only change made to this structure was a small addition to even out the shape of the structure after the home plate grandstand was demolished. The addition is noticeable to the discerning eye when looking at the grandstand from the field, and is clearly distinguished by a line in the concrete when under the concourse. A few other minor pieces of the original structure also remain on the grounds, including a small section of the outfield fence, which is near the Nickerson Field scoreboard, and a ramp sloping downwards from the street to the playing surface.
After the demolition of all Braves Field structures that were slated for removal was completed in 1960, Boston University began to build new structures within the space in order to meet the demands of their growing campus. In 1963 and 1964, Boston University created the first dormitory buildings in west campus, and the biggest at the school up to that point, on the site of the former Braves Field. Sleeper, Claflin, and Rich Hall dormitories were constructed in an angular pattern around the base of the field, resembling from above the layout of the original home plate grandstand. Students living in these three buildings would have views of the athletic field from their dorm rooms. In total, these dorms cost nearly $10 million to construct, and were financed mainly by mortgages obtained through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development programs.
In 1972, Case Athletic Center opened, housing the majority of BU athletic facilities. Construction began in 1968, and the whole project cost approximately $6 million. The facility includes offices, locker rooms, a gym, and an ice rink, as well as outdoor tennis courts. The Case Center, located next to Rich Hall dormitory, is located where the original third base grandstand stood at Braves Field. Alongside the remaining right field grandstand and aforementioned layout of the dormitories, the location of the Case Center completes the recreation of the aerial view of the structures (see Figure 3). Furthermore, the locker rooms in Case Gym align with the approximate location of the original Braves Field locker room. The completion of the Case Center fulfilled one of the University’s major original goals for the Braves Field site, to serve as a central location for all BU athletic facilities.
The Spanish Colonial-style building along Harry Agganis Way that originally held the Braves’ administrative and ticket offices (as well as entry point for fans on game day) served as the home of BU’s athletic offices until the Case Center was completed. Coaches and athletics staff had offices in the building, and there was a weight room in the building for a time. After athletic offices moved to the Case Center, the building became the headquarters of the Boston University Police Department [BUPD], which it remains to this day. In 1978, the school completed simple construction on the lower half of the building, walling in the open areas to create more usable space. When this construction was completed, the Boston University Children’s Center, a childcare center and preschool for dependents of BU faculty and staff, assumed the newly created space. The Center remained there until 2020, when it was moved to a newly-renovated home in Brookline.
Analysis of Reuse
Principles of Preservation & Adaptive Reuse
While not an Adaptive Reuse project in our traditional understanding of the term, the adaptation of Nickerson Field nonetheless followed some of the guidance and principles that are standards of reuse. This project fits, imperfectly, within the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. To start, the property retains its historic use as an athletic field. Additionally, historic features have been repaired, not replaced, when maintenance is needed, and new construction was done in a way that does not attempt to replicate the historical fabric. For instance, the addition to the right field grandstand is noticeable, as the material appears different, and the new chunk does not feature the concrete capstones included on the original section of the grandstand. Furthermore, the dormitory buildings and Case Athletic Center embraced the architectural stylings of their day and did not try to emulate the past. This is an idea referenced by Daniel Bluestone in "Preserve: A Conversation". Bluestone and his peers advocate for “layers” of history within an area, that everything should not be built to look the same as older buildings.
Looking from an international perspective, continuing to use the space for athletic facilities is an example of a compatible use as defined by the Burra Charter. Furthermore, changes in use, from purely athletic to a campus center including dormitories, have changed the cultural significance of the place, which is deemed acceptable under the Charter. While the reuse and transformation of Braves Field does align with certain principles, it is incompatible with some others. The majority of the historic structures have been removed, and modifications to the site generally lack reversibility. These factors would be considered unacceptable under the Burra Charter.
As mentioned by Paul Rinaldi, the methods of reuse sought to find solutions for the density of Boston University’s campus. This aligns with an idea from the “Ten Principles for ReUrbanism”, a set of standards published through the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “There are many ways to achieve density,” it reads, suggesting that mixing newer and historic fabrics allow areas to become more dense. BU achieved this by creating buildings with a variety of uses, and allowing the remaining historic fabric to be mixed-use. The school built a series of three tall dorm buildings where many students can live, next to a multiple-level athletic facility, where a basketball gym is placed above an ice hockey rink. Furthermore, while a large open space, the field itself serves many purposes, from organized athletic events, pickup and intramural sports, pep rallies, student fairs, as well as the location of commencement ceremonies each year.
Boston University’s process of reuse should be analyzed through what has become the golden rule of adaptive reuse, to "do as much as necessary but as little as possible." Some certainly may argue that BU removed far too much of the original structure to have abided by this principle, and that is certainly an understandable point of view. However, a strong argument can be made that BU did follow this rule. For BU, and their needs as a growing university in an urban environment, what was necessary for them was to create a place for their students to live and for their athletes to compete. It became necessary for them to remove some of the original structures, however they achieved their goals without completely destroying the historic character of the area, and in addition, they paid homage to the original layout of the historic structures. The fact that they were able to successfully meet their needs, while still maintaining the history of the site and some of the historic structures is quite commendable and makes this project a strong example of adaptive reuse.
Efforts to Commemorate the History of Braves Field
Boston University and other partners have worked to commemorate the history of Braves Field through various interpretive devices. In the concourse of the remaining grandstand, photographs are hung alongside informative placards, depicting Boston Braves and Boston
University history. These include pictures of Babe Ruth during his time playing with the Braves, Sam Jethroe, who integrated professional baseball in Boston, aerial photos of Braves Field, and various photos pertaining to BU football. In 2015, Boston University hung a plaque on the exterior of the grandstand to honor the 100th year of Braves/Nickerson Field. The plaque bears a BU athletics logo, but is engraved with a picture from when the Braves still played at the site. An additional plaque is located in the courtyard between the grandstand and the BUPD headquarters. This plaque, erected in 1988 as a collaborative effort between the school, the Society for American Baseball Research [SABR], and the New England Sports Museum, describes the history of the site and memorable events that took place there.
Thanks to an initiative started by the Boston Braves Historical Association (BBHA), the alley between the field and the shops on Commonwealth Avenue, connecting Harry Agganis Way and Babcock Street, has been renamed Braves Field Way. Prior to being Renamed Harry Agganis Way in 1995, the street between Nickerson Field and Agganis Arena was named Gaffney Street, after Braves Owner and financier of Braves Field, James Gaffney. The effort began in 2000, thanks to BBHA member Jim Smith, of Dorchester. After successfully getting Boston University and the seven property owners who had claim to parts of the alley on board, a petition for the renaming had to be submitted to the Public Improvement Commission with the City of Boston. The petition was approved and the Braves Field Way street sign was unveiled in 2002.
Effect on the Boston University Campus and School at Large
The acquisition and transformation of Braves Field had a major impact on the campus and general trajectory of Boston University. By providing space for athletic facilities on the Charles River campus, the site helped Boston University achieve a goal they had been attempting for decades. According to an internally-published Boston University publication, How Did We Get Here From There?: An Informal Financial and Geographical History of Boston University, 1926-1976, the school had considered building an athletic facility since the late 1930’s, when an idea was proposed to demolish buildings on Bay State Road and construct a field along the Charles River. Prior to purchasing Braves Field, the school briefly but seriously considered purchasing a 37-acre piece of land along Soldiers Field Road.
In a September 1953 edition of the Boston University News, university president Harold C. Case boasted, "Braves Field is a new source of pride... [the field] stirs our imagination and upgrades our confidence." As time wore on, Braves Field would prove to do more than just improve the confidence around campus. It created the campus. The purchase of Braves Field and its transition into Nickerson Field served to ground Boston University within the city of Boston and along Commonwealth Avenue. The Braves Field lot was just the second land acquisition by the school west of the BU Bridge, after what is now the College of Fine Arts, purchased in 1952. Adding Braves Field down the street gave BU an end point, something to continue growing towards, and in the years since they have acquired nearly all the real estate on Commonwealth Ave between the BU Bridge and Braves Field. Furthermore, Braves Field brought the campus physically together. Boston University had been spread out throughout the City of Boston in its early years, and remained so at the time of the acquisition. BU’s Sargent College was located in Cambridge in 1953, but immediately after purchasing Braves Field, the school made plans to move Sargent to the Charles River Campus, where it remains today. Finally, the purchase of Braves Field dramatically increased the size of the school, and impacted the size in a way that few land grabs in its history have. Today, Boston University holds just over 110 acres of land, 10 of which came from the Braves Field.
Without the purchase of Braves Field, Boston University could look quite different. Instead of continuing down Commonwealth Avenue, the school may have grown more toward Brookline, or past Kenmore Square into Back Bay. It may have moved out of the city entirely, following a trend of urban sprawl that was popular in the 1950’s and 60’s. Braves Field helped build the BU community that persists to this day. The University immediately began holding non-athletic events at the Field, as they still do today. In September of 1953, Braves Field hosted Freshman Convocation and a Dance for new students. Furthermore, athletic events were now held on campus instead of miles away, boosting attendance and school spirit. Without Braves Field, Boston University as we know it today would not exist.
Conclusion
Though seemingly accidental, through its “junk shop” of designs and approaches, the transformation of Braves Field into Nickerson Field and the center of BU’s West Campus has proved to be an excellent example of adaptive reuse and urban planning. It has solved an issue of housing, while still providing adequate outdoor space for recreational activities. Furthermore, it retained key pieces of the historic structure, while paying homage to and informing visitors about what parts were removed. Importantly, through the adaptive reuse of Braves Field, Boston University was able to buck the trend of urban sprawl and remain a part of the city of Boston. The adaptive reuse of Braves Field may not be what we think of when we imagine the ideal adaptive reuse project, but its results should be what we strive for.
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