Breese Stevens Field gets hardscape improvements.

Breese Stevens Field on W. Washington Ave. is getting some improvements to the entrance plazas outside its gates.  So far, a new concrete sign has been placed on the Washington Avenue entrance. The sign will be finished with stone fascia and capstones.   The entrance plaza on Mifflin St. will also be getting a makeover. Other amenities planned for the plazas include bike racks, tables, benches, trees, bollards and trash cans.

The field also got a new press box recently.  It was designed with a contemporary appearance so it would be seen as a modern addition and not be interpreted with the Rustic stadium walls or the Mediterranean Revival style granstand.

Since the facility is a locally designated Landmark, proposed improvements must be certified by the Landmarks Commission. Details of the entrance plaza plans are available here.

The city has made major investments in the facility over the past decade as planning for a revitalized E. Washington Avenue corridor has crept along.  Those investments, and the rehabilitation of this early-twentieth-century urban athletic facility were well-timed.  The revitalization of E. Washington Ave appears to at at tipping point, and Breese Stevens Field, with its little pocket plazas, will be a welcome bit of open space as 5-6-storey office and residential buildings rise along E. Washington.

Breese Stevens Field was purchased by the city from the widow of former Madison Mayor Breese J. Stevens for the expressed purpose of building a municipal athletic facility. The agreement between the city and Stevens stipulated that the parcel shall never be used for any other purpose than that of an athletic field. The Mediterranean Revival style grandstand structure was designed by the Madison architecture firm of Claude and Starck in 1925.  The stone walls were built by the Civil Works Administration in 1934.

Category: Executive Director's Blog, Madison's Historic Places