Mission: To save the near 11,000 orange and yellow folding bucket-seats in Bush Stadium from demolition and repurpose them for bus stops and community spaces throughout Indianapolis.
The Body
The chair is perhaps the most fundamental piece of furniture for the body. It allows us to work, to watch, to enjoy each other’s company, or most simply, to rest. It is designed specifically for comfort, and in the public realm, it almost always serves as a place for inbetweeness. We sit while eating a food-cart lunch, while chatting on the phone, and while waiting for the bus. In relocating the Bush Stadium seats, the same chair will relate differently to the body. What was once a seat for watching a game, becomes a seat for engaging the urban landscape. As part of an urban infrastructure, the chair’s utility will increase, providing the body a place to rest while waiting for the bus or exploring a community park.
The History
Since its completion in 1931, Bush Stadium has been a landmark for the city of Indianapolis and for the rich history of American Baseball. This historic ballpark has been the home to countless baseball greats, including Hank Aaron of the Indianapolis Clowns, one of the nations first and best Negro American Leagues.
It was renamed Bush Stadium in 1967 after Indiana native and Detroit Tiger’s shortstop Donie Bush, who may be best known as the player who broke up Babe Ruth’s nohitter in 1917. With the redevelopment of Bush Stadium, the city has an opportunity to extend the memory of this beloved monument and to set a national urban precedent in sustainability and repurposing.
The Details
With this idea, we are matching a resource with a need.
We worked with IndyGo, who had identified several stops that are too small for shelters, but large enough for seating. We also anticipate that numerous Indianapolis communities, neighborhoods, and parks could benefit from these seats.
We collaborated with several local agencies to help facilitate the removal and restoration of the seats. As they begin popluating the city, their bright orange and yellow colors will represent both newness and innovation, while also acknowledging and respecting a famous Indianapolis landmark.
This proposal promotes the reuse of an existing commodity as an urban solution to an urban need. More specifically, relocating the stadium seating at bus stops, urban greenways and community spaces throughout Indianapolis not only saves thousands of cubic feet in local landfills, but also creates an identifiable sense of place and history within our built environment. In short, the body can always use another place to sit.
» Bush Stadium Seats Project proposal by Ryan Gallagher & Michael Bricker of People For Urban Progress.
