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Staff Report H ISTORIC P RESERVATION B OARD NOVEMBER 2, 2016 A GENDA I TEM 3 Case Number 317 T AMPA A VENUE (TINKER F IELD ) HPB2016-00250 Applicant City of Orlando, owner Property Location 317 S. Tampa Avenue, (Tinker Field) Historic Landmark (District 5) Requested Action The applicant is requesting a Major Certificate of Appropri- ateness to construct a Tinker Field History Plaza that will incorporate elements includ- ing a historic timeline, plaques, monuments, refur- bished original stadium seats, Florida State Historical Marker and a gateway en- trance. Location Map Subject Location N S UMMARY Recommendation Project Description . The playing field became an Orlando His- Approval of request above, toric Landmark on March 23, 2015. subject to the conditions The applicant is proposing to construct a Tinker listed on page 2 of this report. Field History Plaza that will incorporate elements including a historic timeline, plaques, monu- ments, refurbished original stadium seats, Flor- Public Comment Project Planner ida State Historical Marker and a gateway en- trance. Courtesy notices were mailed to nearby prop- Richard Forbes, AIA, LEED AP erty owners on October 18, 2016. As of Octo- Background ber 26, 2016, staff had received no comments . The original ballpark was dedicated as from the public. “Tinker Field” on April 19, 1923. The playing field was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 14, 2004. The landmark nomination was before the HPB on April 2, 2014. Updated: October 26, 2016 Page 2 Case Number HPB2016-00250 November 2, 2016 CONDITIONS OF P ROJECT O VERVIEW AND D ESCRIPTION APPROVAL The National Register of Historic Places nomination notes that the first major league team to visit Subject to the following Orlando was the Philadelphia Athletics in March of 1915. They played two pre season games conditions, the proposal is against the Birmingham Barons at the Fairgrounds. Orlando was a baseball-starved town and its consistent with the requirements citizens liked what they saw. In June of the same year, Bert Humphries, formerly with the Chicago for approval contained in Cubs, organized the Orlando Baseball Club. When he left in 1920, the club hired Joe Tinker to be Sections 62.201 and 62.706 of their new Manager. It was not long before Tinker, also a former Chicago Cub, had the city thinking the Land Development Code about major league baseball. In March of 1921 Tinker’s team played in two exhibition games at the (LDC): fairgrounds against a group of major league players organized by his friend, Clark Griffith. Inspired by the demonstration, the city decided to build a new field. 1. All changes to this proposal shall be reviewed and The original field and buildings at Tinker Field were begun in December of 1922. The ballpark was approved by HPB Minor dedicated as “Tinker field” on April 19, 1923 and is emblematic of the rise of professional baseball Review Committee prior to in the state of Florida and Orlando. The original field and stands, which cost $50,000.00, were lo- permitting. cated to the south of Lake Lorna Doone. The ballpark was said to be larger than the New York Yan- kees Field with a distance from home plate to the right field fence being 278 feet and to left field 2. Final material selection and over 310 feet. paint and concrete stain Sometime in the early 1930’s, alterations and additions were made to the buildings. The WPA ap- colors will require additional propriated money for the construction of a football stadium to the east of Tinker Field in 1940 which review by the Minor Review formed the beginning of what is now known as the Camping World Stadium. In 1960 the baseball Committee. stands got a $4500 facelift in preparation for the winter training season of the Washington Sena- tors. A new grandstand was designed in 1962 and opened on March 27, 1963. One of the largest baseball crowds in the history of the field came to see the opening game between the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees. The new grandstands were designed by Reynolds, Smith and Hills, Architects and Engineers and cost $310,000 with $67,000 spent on lighting. The grandstand was a V-shaped steel beam and truss grandstand that wrapped around the home plate and the right and left lines. The design was typical of vernacular style grandstands built after World War II. The 1962 drawings by Reynolds, Smith and Hills, Architects and Engineers show one area as “existing press box” which appears to remain in a somewhat altered state. According to the National Register nomination form, 909 of the grandstand seats came from Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. Griffith Stadium was built in 1911 after a fire destroyed an earlier stadium and the last game was played in 1961 and the stadium demolished in 1965. The historic wood slatted seats were located on the upper levels of the covered portion of the Tinker Field grandstands where they were more protected from the elements. The remainder of the seats used a similar iron, folding frame but the seat slats were made of gold anodized aluminum which would be typical for the early 1960’s. It is unclear whether all the frames are from Griffith Stadium or the iron frame was still available in 1963. This new grandstand had additional concrete block buildings on the west and south sides that served as ticket booths and concession areas. Page 3 Case Number HPB2016-00250 November 2, 2016 P ROJECT O VERVIEW AND D ESCRIPTION Tinker field was renovated again in 1990 at a cost of $1.7 million. The earlier concrete block ticket and concessions buildings were demol- ished and this renovation added the metal roofed, concrete block entry buildings, ticket offices, restrooms and concession stands that sur- rounded the west and south side of the 1963 grandstand and created an interior court. Comparing the original 1962 construction draw- ings and the 1990 construction drawings, it appears that few changes other than a replacement metal roof and wall panels, paint and addi- tional minor modifications were made to the 1963 grandstands. National Register of Historic Places Listing Tinker Field was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on May 14, 2004. The successful nomination was based on the playing fields association with baseball which met criterion ‘a’ of the National Park Service NRHP criteria for designation in the area of En- tertainment/Recreation. Additionally, the field was associated with Joe Tinker which met criterion ‘b’ as well. Only the playing field was included in the NRHP nomination as contributing and the 1963 and 1990 structures were considered non-contributing resources and were included in the boundaries of the nomination because they create the appropriate setting for the ballpark. At the time of the 2004 nomina- tion the 1963 grandstand was not yet 50 years of age. The 12 non-contributing resources surrounding the historic field in the National Register nomination were: concessions buildings (1990), Grandstand (1963), Old Press Box, Dugouts, Metal Bleachers, Practice Pitching Mound, Batting Cages, Wooden Bleachers, Warning Track, Wall and the Clark Griffith Memorial (1968). Orlando Historic Landmark The Historic Preservation Board reviewed the Landmark Designation request at the April 2, 2014 meeting and recommended that the field and 1963 grandstand be landmarked as contributing structures and the remainder (similar to the NRHP listing) be considered non- contributing. City Council designated Tinker Field (playing field only) as an Orlando Local Landmark on March 23, 2015. All the other struc- tures on site have been demolished except for the historic playing field. Elements including historic seats, monument, and the entry gates have been retained awaiting use in the proposed history plaza. The Landmark Ordinance required the City to develop a plan for appropriate commemorations which may include monuments, signs, plaques, or other objects at Tinker Field. It also states that “the City will undertake all reasonable efforts to salvage historic and sentimen- tal objects and features, particularly those that can be used in the historic commemoration plan”. The Ordinance requires that any such display be reviewed by the City’s historic preservation officer and the Historic Preservation Board and issuance of a Certificate of Appropri- ateness for the proposal. A Community Planning Committee was established in 2015 and an online survey and two community meetings were held to gather pubic input and this proposal is the result. Staff met with the Community Planning Committee on several occasions. Additionally, the HPB Design Review Committee met on March 16, 2016 to discuss the proposal and give criticism and advice. This advice has been incorporated into the current design where feasible. The minutes from the DRC meeting are included as appendix C. The proposed plaza will incorporate several elements including a historic timeline, plaques of well known ball players, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and Clark Griffith monuments, refurbished stadium seats (originally from the Senators Stadium in Washington DC), a gate- way entrance using the salvaged entry gates, covered pavilions, vintage style lighting and a State of Florida Historical Marker. The application includes the research and documented sources compiled by Ted Haddock and is included as appendices A and B. Page 4 Case Number HPB2016-00250 November 2, 2016 S ITE P HOTOS -C URRENT C ONDITIONS Page 5 Case Number HPB2016-00250 November 2, 2016 P HOTOS S HOWING C IRCULAR E NTRY A REA Page 6 Case Number HPB2016-00250 November 2, 2016 P ROJECT A NALYSIS Secretary of the Interior’s “Standards for Rehabilitation” “Every reasonable effort shall be made to protect and pre- serve archeological resources affected by, or adjacent to any Considering an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness project.” pursuant to this Chapter, the Historic Preservation Board shall adhere to and seek compatibility of structures in the district in Not applicable.