Hey! These fields are in the Historic District!

Laura C. Ricketts with the Mt. Lebanon Historic Preservation Board have prepared a 151 page registration form to the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service. On Page 10 of National Register of Historic Places, Main Park is considered a contributing site to the Mt. Lebanon Historic District.

The Mt. Lebanon Historic District also contains three substantial greenspaces within its boundary. The northernmost is the 76-acre Mt. Lebanon Cemetery, which was established in 1874 and includes a late nineteenth century caretaker’s house as part of its property (Photograph 34)... Main Park, a 51-acre park located off Cedar Boulevard, was already established during the period of significance though the original bath house and swimming pool that were formerly located at the center of the park are no longer extant. The park itself, which features ball fields, playgrounds, and basketball and tennis courts, is considered a contributing site, but the recreation center, tennis center, and current pool house that have been built within the park after the period of significance are considered non-contributing buildings. The 42-acre Bird Park, which is located off Beadling Road, is considered a contributing site. Though it wasn’t dedicated as a named park until 1967, historical mapping and aerial photographs show that the parkland remained undeveloped through the period of significance. Bird Park consists of wooded steep terrain with a stream channel, nature trails, athletic fields, and picnic pavilions.

Why does this remind me of our trip to Doubleday Field? Doubleday Field is a baseball stadium in Cooperstown, New York. It was named for Abner Doubleday and is located near the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Baseball history buffs would never settle for artificial turf in Cooperstown, NY. Historians will tell you that ball fields were always grass, never plastic.

According to the Integrity Statement, "an inventory of the 4,263 resources within the 1,306-acre historic district identifies 3,344 contributing buildings, 882 non-contributing buildings, 24 contributing sites, 10 non-contributing sites, and 3 non-contributing structures."

What this tells me is that there are 3,344 buildings with standing. I learned about "standing" when I challenged Kristen Linfante's nomination petition back in 2011. You see, since I am a Republican and she is a Democrat, I had no standing. I was not permitted to challenge her nomination petition. I am not an attorney, but up until now, the only residents who had standing over this turf project were the immediate neighbors on Vee Lynn, Cedar, and Mayfair.

If anyone within the 1,306-acre historic district has an issue with plastic grass being installed on historic fields, take action! You won't see artificial turf at Doubleday Field and we shouldn't have it on our historic fields either.