Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field is a sports stadium in Chicago, Illinois which was built in 1914 for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales and which became the home of the Chicago Cubs in 1916. It was also the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League from 1921-1970.

Pilgrimage

The Red Line stop at Addison is less than one block from Wrigley Field. The stadium was originally built where it is due to its proximity to the train tracks. At the conclusion of games the scoreboard operators will raise to the top of the scoreboard either a white flag with a blue "W" to signify a Cubs victory, or a blue flag with a white "L" to signify a loss; this is done to allow passengers on the train heading home from the Loop to see the outcome of the game.

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Parking in the area remains scarce, but that does not seem to bother fans who want to come to this baseball "mecca", which drew over 3 million fans in 2004, averaging to a near-sellout every day of the season, even with those many weekday afternoon games.

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Wrigley Field has continuously evolved over its 90-plus seasons. There is relatively little left of the original that is visible to the casual viewer. One of the more obvious originals would be the brick portions of the outer bleacher wall, visible in the "back of Wrigley Field" photo that accompanies this article. It is unclear whether that wall, or a portion thereof, will be incorporated into the Cubs planned expansion of the bleachers.

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