Fenway Park opened on
April 20, 1912, making it the oldest ballpark still in
active use in Major League Baseball. Fenway Park is actually
the second home for the Sox. In 1901, the Boston Pilgrims
became one of the teams in the American League. The Pilgrims
played at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, now a part of
Northeastern University's campus. Boston Globe owner General
Charles Henry Taylor, a Civil War veteran, bought the team
for his son John I. Taylor in 1904. In 1907, owner Taylor
changed the club's name from the Pilgrims to the Red Sox. In
1910, tired of the leasing arrangement for the Huntington
Avenue Grounds, Taylor made a big announcement: he would
build a new ballpark for his Red Sox. Taylor dubbed the new
ballpark Fenway Park because of its location in the Fenway
section of Boston. 
Its opening in 1912 was
not mentioned on top page in the newspaper, happening, as it
did five days after the sinking of the Titanic. Fenway
Park is one of the few remaining classic parks in major
league baseball to have a significant number of obstructed
view seats. These are sold as such, and are a reminder of
the architectural limitations of older ballparks.
On May 8, 1926 ,
Fenway Park caught fire, destroying bleacher seats down the
left field line. Yet nothing was done until Tom Yawkey
bought the Red Sox in 1933. Yawkey, a rich man devoted to
getting the Red Sox a championship, re-did the stadium in
1934. He put concrete bleachers in center to replace the old
wood ones, "Duffy's Cliff" was leveled off (not completely),
and the 37' wooden left field wall was replaced by a more
durable, 37' sheet metal structure. This would later be
known as the "Green Monster."However,
the screen was replaced after the 2002 season with more
seating atop the Green Monster (in an attempt to fit as many
seats as possible in Fenway)
In 1940, bullpens
were constructed in right field bringing the fence 23'
closer to home plate. This was done for second year player
Ted Williams, a natural left-handed pull hitter. Sky-view
seats were put in during 1946, followed by lights in 1947,
and Diamond Vision over the center field bleachers in 1976.
Private suites were added to the roof in 1983, and a
glassed-in seating section called the 600 Club was built
behind home plate in 1988. Scientists and studies have
showed that the installation on the 600 Club has affected
the wind currents in Fenway, creating swirling winds around
the field instead of a direct wind towards the outfield
often times
