Stagg Field

Amos Alonzo Stagg Field is the name of two different football fields for the University of Chicago. The earliest Stagg Field is probably best remembered for its role in a landmark scientific achievement by Enrico Fermi during the Manhattan Project. The site of the first nuclear reaction received designation as a National Historic Landmark on February 18, 1965.[1] On October 15, 1966, which is the day that the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 was enacted creating the National Register of Historic Places, it was added to that as well.[2] The site was named a Chicago Landmark on October 27, 1971.[3]

Contents

First nuclear chain reaction

Main article: Chicago Pile-1

On December 2, 1942 about forty people watched Enrico Fermi and his team set off the first nuclear chain reaction at Chicago Pile-1 in a racquets court under the west stands of the abandoned stadium.[4] The old Stagg Field plot of land is currently home to the Regenstein Library. A Henry Moore sculpture, Nuclear Energy, in a small quadrangle commemorates the nuclear experiment.[1]

Sports venue

First Stagg Field

The first Stagg Field was a stadium at the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. It was primarily used for college football games, and was the home field of the Maroons. Stagg Field originally opened in 1893 as Marshall Field, named after Marshall Field who donated land to the university to build the stadium.[5] In 1913, the field was renamed Stagg Field after their famous coach Amos Alonzo Stagg. The final capacity, after several stadium expansions, was 50,000. The University of Chicago discontinued its football program after 1939 and left the Big Ten Conference in 1946. The stadium was demolished in 1957.

New Stagg Field

The current Stagg Field is an athletic field located several blocks to the northwest that preserves the Stagg Field name, as well as a relocated gate from the original facility. The school's current Division III football team uses the new field as their home. Stagg Field has a seating capacity of 1,650, and the field itself is made of FieldTurf.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Site of First Self-Sustaining Nuclear Reaction, NHL Database, National Historic Landmarks Program. Retrieved 11 February 2007.
  2. ^ National Register Information System, National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service. Retrieved 11 February 2007.
  3. ^ "Site of the First Self-Sustaining Controlled Nuclear Chain Reaction". City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division. 2003. http://www.cityofchicago.org/Landmarks/S/SiteNuclear.html. Retrieved March 31, 2007. 
  4. ^ Zug, James (2003). Squash, A History of the Game. Scribner. pp. 135–136. ISBN 978-0743229906.  The space is commonly misidentified as having been a squash court.
  5. ^ "2006 Football Program," University of Chicago, pg. 35. Retrieved 6 April 2007.
  6. ^ "University of Chicago Ratner Center Visiting Guide". University of Chicago, Athletics Department. http://athletics.uchicago.edu/visitors/visitingguide.pdf. Retrieved 2010-07-15. 

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