Exterior Design:

Like the ballpark’s aesthetics in general, Minute Maid Park’s exterior design is somewhat of a paradox, as there is plenty to criticize and praise at the same time. It is widely successful in theory as a concept, but in practice, the common take is the exterior doesn’t look very good.

In terms of appearance and pure architectural merits, the outside is probably one of the worst in the majors, with overtly themey designs and an ugly “bath tub” like look. But at the same time, unlike retractable roof ballparks in Seattle and Arizona, Minute Maid Park’s exterior design is very well articulated in its architecture, without the conflicting modern ethos we see in those two ballparks. It’s the only “retro” retractable roof ballpark that successfully managed to build a “retro” roof as well, in what looks remarkably coherent and well thought out. So in other words, no one would ever say it’s one of the more attractive exteriors in the majors, but as a concept, it’s absolutely brilliant.

The park’s architectural design is reframed around the Houston’s classic Union Station, built in a Victorian neighborhood in 1911. Minute Maid Park takes that contextual element’s authentic architecture and applies it to the ballpark. The warm red brick is typical, but it’s nicely accentuated by granite, limestone, and other masonry prevalent in the area. The round arches relate not only to Union Station but also to the nearby historic church.

Specifically note how the exterior façade is broken up into small, disconnected structures to better match the scale of intimate Union Station. Well done.

But what is clearly the most audacious exhibition is the style of the retractable roof on top of the retro-classic building. If you take a look at my Safeco Field review, you’ll know my disdain for ballpark architecture that doesn’t know what it wants to be. At Safeco, half of the ballpark is rapped in a meekly articulated red brick façade, while the other half of the ballpark emphasizes a rationalist steelwork, which matches the imposing modern jet-black retractable roof. In Houston, Minute Maid Park is successful in avoiding that clashing sensibility between 21st century technology and 20th century retro architecture.

Architects examined classic train sheds for inspiration, using elegant lacy ironwork. The coherent Minute Maid Park has a turquoise beamed retractable roof, evoking the faded lacy ironwork of 19th century train sheds, in direct connection to Union Station. The turquoise color is meant to represent the faded copper of train tracks. Because the roof’s superstructure received this contextually based treatment, Minute Maid Park looks like a giant retractable train station, in what is one of the most conceptually successful retro ballparks in the majors. Like Marlins Park is an unmistakable contemporary ballpark, Minute Maid Park is unmistakably retro, unlike the more confused Miller Park, Chase Field, and Safeco Field.

Of course, while Minute Maid Park carried out its design goals to perfection, in what is “all about trains and baseball,” the general consensus is it doesn’t look that good from the outside. As I’ll cover more in the interior aesthetics section, there is a growing backlash against overly thematic ballparks like Minute Maid, but I think it gets some immunity because it is so consistently well done. Like with most retractable roof ballparks, it suffers from a number of awkward areas for the roof mechanisms.

Some of the supplementary elements reinforce the 19th century train motif as well. The turquoise retractable roof supports are arched, mimicking the brick arched façade below. The arched turquoise home plate/left field entrances are vaguely reminiscent of European facilities, but are meant to represent a classic train station waiting area. The home plate clock tower is very attractive as well.

But as a piece of architecture, when you turn your ballpark into a theme park with no revolutionary new ideas, there is a low ceiling on its merits, in what is a too heavy-handed attempt to evoke the past. But that’s something that all retro parks suffer from.

So I guess the central point is it doesn’t look that good from the outside, and that’s all it takes to get a lower than expected score despite the praise. Not counting Marlins Park yet, it’s the best of the retractable roof exterior designs, but it’s a close race of mediocrity, especially with Minute Maid Park because there is so much to consider. As a concept, Minute Maid Park is admirably ambitious on the outside, despite its aesthetic merits, and we see those ambitions taken to another level on the inside.

Score: 6.5/10

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Interior Aesthetics:

See introduction. Minute Maid Park recently added a disastrously ugly array of ads. Former rating was 12. Positive tone of article unchanged.

The central irony of Minute Maid Park, especially when you now consider what the park is known for, was the team’s obsession with building a ballpark that would “stand out” and be “different.”

The novelty of just being “retro” wasn’t enough. They knew that all new ballparks were being built in the same fashion. They felt they had to push the envelope. We need a short porch in left field, quirky dimensions, an 1860s choo-choo train that runs during home runs, a dirt lining in between the mound and home plate (later taken out, but you can see it in the renderings), a flag pole in play, and yes, a hill in center field!

But the second wave of retro ballparks were paradoxically cookie cutters because they all represented the same synthetically quirky retro philosophy. So really Minute Maid Park was just amplifying the same retro quirks and designs to absurd proportions, taking the aesthetic to its extreme logical conclusion. And it’s now considered the poster child of this “faux-retro” sensibility.

And that’s basically been echoed, albeit less eloquently, by many critics, and I agree on a superficial level.

But architectural critics and ballpark aficionados are missing an even deeper irony here: Minute Maid Park’s interior aesthetics are unique and attractive enough without the synthetic quirkiness or attention grabbing gimmicks, especially for a retractable roof ballpark.

Many of the heavy-handed phony elements were due to Astros management.  When you just look at what the architects did, Minute Maid Park is a very well designed building on the inside, with a surplus of high quality materials and consistent retro-classic treatment not seen in similar ballparks.

Much of what I described in my opening paragraph are hallmarks of the “second wave of retro ballparks” built from 1997-2004. But Minute Maid Park also succeeds in the central hallmark of the first wave of retro parks (and many second wave parks get this right, to be fair), building a ballpark that tangibly connects to its downtown context. Perhaps this is even more palpably impressive considering all other retractable roof ballparks failed miserably here, especially the insular Safeco Field, which didn’t really have an excuse.

In other words, this is the only retractable roof ballpark that is in scale with the local area, part of the urban fabric of the city.

While I wish it could have been more prominent on the inside, Minute Maid Park’s consistent application of Union Station (a historic Houston building) to the interior design is better than Petco Park’s warehouse and conceptually equal to Camden Yards’ same version. The proverbial “train station” of the ballpark, a reference to this brick building is seen all throughout the interior aesthetics. The upper deck in left field is horizontally truncated in order to facilitate views of Union Station and downtown Houston.

Similar to AT&T Park in San Francisco, Minute Maid Park is one of the few to bring a retro mainstay, the classic archways, to the inside of the ballpark. Attractive cream-colored stone arches span a quarter of the ballpark’s perimeter in left and center field, in what is both functional and attractive. Especially in comparison to Safeco Field, this is a fantastic use of space, effectively tightening the layout of the ballpark, serving as a platform for the retractable roof mechanisms, and providing a retro-classic sensibility, all in one. They remind me of the classic Roman aqueducts.

The interplay between the red brick Union Station in the background and the archways in the foreground, serving as a platform for the train tracks, is quite clever. In what is a perfect application of context and theme to function, the sliding glass retractable roof tracks ingeniously serve as a mechanism for executing the train track aesthetic, as the model 1860s train can move up right in front of Union Station. Yeah, it’s a bit cheesy, but it’s very well executed.

The vertical height of the arches is deceptively low, so when the roof is open, you’re not just in the one of the most attractive retractable roof ballparks, but one of the most attractive ballparks in all of baseball. You are in a true open air ballpark, with a view of Houston’s courthouse and downtown. Contrary to popular belief, Minute Maid Park, not Safeco Field, has the most open air space when the roof is fully retracted, as all of center field is open too.

The arches and lack of seating in left-center field are attractively juxtaposed with the simple double deck grandstand spanning right field. The geometry of the infield grandstand design is especially unique as well. The curvilinear grandstand design down the first base line and the curvature of roof is beautifully contrasted with the rigidity of the third base grandstand. Also note the curvature of the canopy matching the retractable roof design on the third base side. This is another park that has particularly good balance, despite all of the convulsion and contrivance within.

The right side of Minute Maid Park’s outfield set-up is much more simple, but still uses space efficiently. When open, take careful note of the turquoise lacy ironwork on the roof’s white façade above right field, which matches the general motif of the ballpark and the cream stone arches. Again, you may not find this attractive, but for a retractable roofed ballpark, Minute Maid Park is very aesthetically coherent in its bottom line. At least it fosters some much needed unity in the disjointed retro retractable roof ballpark landscape, meaning it has aesthetic vision and consistency.

One thing that surprised me was how intimate the structure is; especially in comparison to other more highly acclaimed ballparks. Logically, this makes sense, as Minute Maid Park has a particularly small footprint, as the left field archways are essentially the limit of the physical plant. In contrast to sprawling ballparks like Miller Park, Chase Field, and Safeco Field, Houston’s home is quite spatially compact, without the “dead” space commonly seen in other retractable roof ballparks. Also, they made a concentrated effort to limit outfield seating. With the roof open and minimal seats in the outfield, I would venture to say only PNC Park, AT&T Park, and perhaps Target Field would compete with this intimate scale, as you can hit a home run out of this park and watch the street lights change off of Prairie and Crawford from the upper deck. Yet it still somehow has a roof. Quite impressive.

Some of the subtle aspects aid Minute Maid Park’s appeal as well. Continuing the theme of aesthetic consistency, Minute Maid Park’s cross section design reinforces the retro nature of the looming Union Station and the cream colored arches. If there was ever a ballpark to have red brick in the infield grandstand, this is it, something that Camden Yards chose not to do quite at the same level. The upper deck portals are all adorned with red brick, something seen nowhere else in baseball. The press box, Inspirity Club, and the backstop are finished in red brick as well.

Because of the Tal’s Hill in center field, Minute Maid Park’s batter’s eye is particularly effective and unobtrusive. Because the incline of the hill partially serves as the batter’s eye, only a small compact box of plush greenery is needed. As implied, the ballpark’s interior color scheme is excellent, as the dark green in the seating bowl nicely matches the light beige archways and red brick throughout the interior.

This is all a far cry from the conflicting Safeco, where the stark black modern interior fights the retro sensibility on the outside; it is a building primarily dedicated to functionality.

The only reason Safeco Field is generally considered better design wise (it is better in terms of amenities) is because it lacks the highly criticized kitschy gimmicks of Minute Maid Park, and it has a unique umbrella-styled retractable roof that doesn’t enclose the park. Both are legitimate criticisms, as Minute Maid Park is closed for roughly 65-70 out of 81 games on average.

It is true that Minute Maid Park loses much of its aesthetic appeal with the roof closed, but not to the extent that others lose it. Out of all the retractable roof ballparks, Houston lets in the most natural light while closed, as it uses a transparent sliding glass door. Safeco Field, while closed much less often, has a dark dungeon like vibe when closed. Minute Maid Park also has open viewing areas through the archways below the roof, showcasing a profusion of trees.

But as I touched upon in the beginning, it is highly problematic that Minute Maid Park went too far over the top with some of its “retro” features. But for me, the park’s primary flaw isn’t necessarily the gimmicks, but just how muddled with general distractions and ads the ballpark has become throughout its tenure.

If you compare the left side of the ballpark in 2000 when it opened to how it is now, you’ll see what I mean. On the arches, you now see numerous pennants, ads, and other pointless sponsorships. This is applied to most of the ballpark as well, as there are simply way too many ads, and I have a high tolerance for ads in major league ballparks. The most egregious, and possibly the worst feature in all of baseball, is the Chick-Fil-A “Eat Mor Fowl” poles. Ads on the foul poles, really?  The ads were taken to the extreme in 2012.

It’s a shame, because all of these distractions show a lack of confidence in its architectural lines. And unlike Turner Field or Citi Field, which are also horrendously muddled, Minute Maid had every right to be confident in its lines. If they had left this fairly simple structure alone and let the interior architecture shine, perhaps it would have been perceived differently. Right now, many critics see Minute Maid Park as a tacky ballpark, over indulgent in it’s faux retro features. People find the planned quirkiness off-putting.

While you often here the buzzwords “gimmicky” and “contrived” thrown out regarding Minute Maid Park, I would argue it’s more gimmicky than contrived. The dimensions and even the Crawford Boxes (short porch) in left field are derived from the confines of Crawford Street and the surrounding downtown area.

So as for those gimmicky features that everyone loves to criticize? As I said in the beginning, I wouldn’t have included them in the design, but I don’t see how they take away from the appeal of the entire ballpark. As a principle, I agree with much of what is said, it’s totally phony.

But how would removing Tal’s Hill in center field after the fact improve the ballpark? Yes, it shows a lack of confidence in the overarching design, but my general rule is that unless a feature is aesthetically unattractive, meaning it doesn’t add any aesthetic value to the ballpark, then you should leave well enough alone. Tal’s Hill is contrived, but it’s attractive enough. People need to chill, and maybe someday Tal’s Hill will be seen as a parody of itself. Also the train is fairly innocuous in scope, and again I love the concept.

I would contrast this with a couple of other features around the majors: Petco Park’s pointless notch in right field and Great American Ballpark’s model riverboat/model smoke stacks. Not borne from necessity, the right field notch (“home run porch”) is the single most contrived element in baseball. At least you can understand why they’d think to put a hill in Houston, because of the deep center field. But there’s zero reason or rationale for Petco’s porch on any possible level, as it doesn’t add anything to the ballpark.  Great American Ballpark’s tacky river-themed features (black box boat and Lego smoke stacks) ruin the entire ballpark by obstructing the river views and blocking out the context. And they are generally considered ugly.

These are examples of when removing a gimmick or contrivance would actually make the ballpark better.

Few ballparks attempted to execute a design project with such aesthetic depth and vision like the Astros. I’m generally critical of ballparks that are overly thematic, like Great American Ballpark, but Minute Maid Park is so well executed you have to give partial immunity, as the theme derives from contextual authenticity.

Overall, Minute Maid Park is really more than the sum of its parts, because the parts people tend to fixate on aren’t really indicative of the quality of the design. Across the retro ballpark landscape, gimmicks and contrivances were added because retro ballparks were starting to all look the same. They needed to be distinguished. Minute Maid Park needed these gimmicks and distractions less than anyone else! It’s distinct without them.

Hokey gimmicks and contrivances aren’t what Minute Maid Park is solely about, contrary to popular belief. When Tal Smith said, “Ballpark’s should be known for something. I’d rather be known for a hill than a swimming pool,” he was underselling his ballpark. Minute Maid Park should have been known for being the only retractable roof ballpark to respond to the contextual forces of the city. It should have been known for its superior use of space and intimate scale. It should have been known for Union Station, the attractive cream archways, the Houston skyline, and the 19th century lacy train shed ironwork. While it gets points off for not being confident in it’s architecture by adding kitschy features and muddling the structure, no one can take that away from the Astros or the astute observer.

Score: 12/15
Score: 10/15

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Panoramic View/Backdrop:

Minute Maid Park has a very similar set up to Safeco Field in terms of picturesque views, as both provide sweeping downtown views past left field. While Safeco Field provides more spectacular views, Minute Maid Park is closer to downtown. Note how the upper deck in left field is expanded upward in sections 405-407 and cut off horizontally, preserving views of Union Station and downtown Houston, somewhat like Camden Yards. It’s too bad the ballpark couldn’t be located 400 feet to the left, and the skyline would have spanned the outfield. Now it’s basically in the far left corner, only visible in the upper deck down the first base line. But the view of Union Station is still nice.

Score: 3.5/5

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Concourses:

Minute Maid Park was conceptualized around Union Station and the concourse aesthetics are no exception. The Astros continue their train motif throughout the concourses, with arched windows and railroad themed concession stands seen throughout the building.

While perhaps a tad “mall-like,” though I would disagree, Minute Maid Park’s concourses are adorned in dark red, sandy beige, and light green, similar to the color scheme of the interior design. Note the brickwork on some of the walls, which is very pleasing to the eye. The railroad theme is extended specifically to the concession stands, some of which are modeled after cabooses. Examples include “All Aboard,” the “Dining Car Grill,” the “Whistle Stop Libations,” and the “Union Station Express.” Yeah, it’s a bit overdone, but it’s very executed and most importantly consistent. Note the arched windows as well, especially the attractive brick arches on the upper deck concourse.

But the highlight of the “concourse aesthetics” is the Union Station lobby itself, which is part of the ballpark. The 30-foot high Union Station has massive stone arches, marble, and limestone floors. The lobby architecture is reminiscent of the late 19th century Victorian revival featuring Romanesque elements, specifically columns in Ionic order with a Corinthian capital. An old-fashioned ticket booth lies on the west side (front side) of the lobby. There is also a team store to the right. Union Station includes team offices and a party deck on top, used when the roof is open.

After fans walk past the former train station onto the main concourse, they encounter those cream-colored arches that extend from left field onto the concourse, meant to evoke a rail bridge. It’s all a very tasteful set-up, in what is one of the best “signature entrances” in baseball. Of course, the entire concourse system is climate controlled and enclosed, so there is a ceiling on how high it can score aesthetically.

Score: 2/3

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Total: 22/33