The corner of 161st Street and River Avenue. Since 1923, this intersection in the Bronx has been the home of the New York Yankees, first in “The House That Ruth Built,” and then across 161st from 2009 to the present. For a full century now, Yankee Stadium has dominated this corner of the Bronx, and generation upon generation of fans have visited the stadium’s hallowed halls.
And yet, to different people, “Yankee Stadium” refers to different things. To older generations of fans, Yankee Stadium is the original. Although major changes were made to the structure during renovations in the 1970s — ones significant enough to invite their own debate — fans visiting in the Bronx in the 2000s were in, both structurally and spiritually, the same building that had witnessed Lou Gehrig’s speech, Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak, Don Larsen’s perfect game, Roger Maris’s single-season home run record, and much more.