Green Cathedrals

Green Cathedrals is a comprehensive reference guide documenting the physical details and histories of baseball parks throughout North America. The book contains data on over 400 major and minor league ballparks, including dimensions, configurations, and architectural features. Each ballpark entry provides statistics, dates of operation, and key historical information about the venue. The research spans from the earliest professional baseball grounds of the 1800s through modern MLB stadiums. The book includes rare photographs, diagrams, and detailed measurements that illustrate how ballpark design evolved over more than 150 years. Stadium quirks, oddities, and structural changes are noted for fields both famous and forgotten. This encyclopedic work reflects baseball's deep connection to physical space and how the architecture of ballparks shapes the game itself. The level of detail serves both as historical preservation and as commentary on how these "green cathedrals" became sacred spaces in American culture.

Readers value Green Cathedrals as a detailed reference guide to baseball stadium dimensions and histories. Baseball researchers and historians cite its comprehensive data and measurements of both major and minor league parks. What readers liked: - In-depth dimensions and configurations for obscure/defunct parks - Historical photos and diagrams - Coverage of Negro League venues - Facts about temporary and emergency ballparks Common criticisms: - Some data conflicts with other published sources - Limited coverage of more recent ballparks - Minimal narrative content beyond raw facts - No aerial photos in newer editions Ratings: Goodreads: 4.1/5 (47 ratings) Amazon: 4.3/5 (21 ratings) One reader noted: "An indispensable resource for settling arguments about old ballpark dimensions." Another criticized: "Too much focus on measurements, not enough on the character and atmosphere of the parks themselves." The 1992 edition receives higher ratings than newer versions due to its inclusion of photo plates.

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🏟️ The book meticulously documents over 400 baseball parks, including detailed dimensions of each field's playing surface, foul territory, and outfield walls. ⚾ Author Philip J. Lowry spent over 20 years researching and visiting ballparks to compile the information, traveling to countless locations across North America. 📏 The book reveals how some historic ballparks had dramatically asymmetrical dimensions, like the Baker Bowl in Philadelphia which had a right field wall just 280 feet from home plate. 🗺️ Each ballpark entry includes geographic coordinates, making it one of the first sports reference books to provide such precise location data. 🏗️ The title "Green Cathedrals" was inspired by the reverence baseball fans hold for their home stadiums, comparing them to sacred religious structures in both their architectural grandeur and cultural significance.