The House That Ruth Built

The original Yankee Stadium was located in the Bronx, New York City. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees, one of the city's Major League Baseball franchises, from 1923 to 2008, except for 1974-75 when the stadium was renovated. It hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the home of the New York Giants National Football League (NFL) team from 1956 through September 1973. The stadium's nickname, "The House That Ruth Built", is derived from Babe Ruth, the baseball superstar whose prime years coincided with the stadium's opening and the beginning of the Yankees' winning history. It has often been referred to as "The Cathedral of Baseball".

Over the course of its history, Yankee Stadium became one of the most famous venues in the United States, having hosted a variety of events and historic moments during its existence. While many of these moments were baseball-related—including World Series games, no-hitters, perfect games, and historic home runs—the stadium also hosted boxing matches, the 1958 NFL Championship Game (referred to as The Greatest Game Ever Played), college football, and concerts. The stadium went through many alterations and playing surface configurations over the years. The condition of the facility worsened in the 1960s and 1970s, prompting its closure for renovation from October 1973 through 1975. The renovation significantly altered the appearance of the venue and reduced the distance of the outfield fences.

Yankee Stadium Facade

One of the most distinguishing characteristics of Yankee Stadium was the facade, which consisted of a green frieze that originally ran along the front of the roof of the triple-decked grandstand, and later atop the bleacher billboards and scoreboard when the Stadium was remodeled substantially.

The facade was an addition made by Osborn Engineering, when the owners of the Yankees asked that the stadium be given "an air of dignity". Yankee Stadium tour guide Tony Morante stated that it "was known originally as a frieze. Somewhere along the way it took on the term of facade, and most people know it today as the facade." 

The facade originally ran around the roof of the grandstand's upper deck. This original facade was made of copper and over the course of time, developed a greenish patina (as with the Statue of Liberty). It was painted white in the mid-1960s.  When the stadium was renovated in the 1970s, 10 rows were added to the top of upper deck, and the support columns were removed. The original roof had to be removed; the facade was removed and sold as scrap. A smaller, concrete version was erected above the scoreboards and billboards behind the bleachers.  

The term "facade" is actually a misnomer. The scalloped arches are actually a frieze, and it was originally known as such. It is unknown when or where the term "facade" came into use, but it has become the more common name, used by fans, broadcasters and personnel. With the move to the new stadium, the organization has made a move to return to the term "frieze", exclusively using it in public statements and literature.

In order to log this Virtual Cache you must first visit this location, answer a few simple questions and email me the answers:

1. Walk down to the public ball field across from the new stadium, and face the facade. How many round pointed protuberances do you see?  Note that you cannot see these from street level
2. (Optional) Post a picture of yourself at the facade or in front (or inside!) of the new stadium without revealing any of the answers.  Your face is not required in the photo

Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023

This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.