Baseball and Saloons

Essay text:

People of all economic classes came together and bonded over their shared cultural experiences. Like the saloon of the early 20th century, the baseball stadium is also a place where people with a common identity meet. It is at the stadium in which fans can express their love for their team and bond over their shared interest. Like in saloons, people from all different economic classes come together over their shared identity. Business deals also take place at baseball stadiums. In order to illustrate this point, I will be examining: -the construction of the stadium -how does the construction reflect its intended purpose -narrow corridors that lead into a wide open stadium -main focal point is the field (and therefore the game played on the field) -food and drink stands - encourage people to relax, eat, and have fun (like at the saloon) -seats all face home plate, seats are close to one another and in long rows -again, focal point is baseball game, but intimacy encourages conversations among people with a shared interest -souvenir stands encourage people to "show" their identity -ticket prices -what types of people attend baseball games? -as the price increases, so does the view of the game, those that pay less will sit farthest away in the stadium -what does this say about the economic structure of society? -those with more money have more opportunities, those with less are afforded few luxuries -however like the saloon, everyone is welcome to attend Early Sources: -Making of Urban America Edited by Raymond Mohl -there is a chapter in this book about the history of saloons in America