Friday is opening day at Yankee Stadium and the Lou Gehrig Plaza is celebrating with a “Home Run.”
Flanked between the Bronx Supreme Court and Joyce Kilmer Park on 161st Street, the pedestrian square named after the late, great Yankee first baseman has been a venue for several art installations over the years. From now through May, the plaza will be home to yet another, honoring the inaugural home game of the Yankees.
“This is our baseball bench,” Trey Jenkins, executive director of the 161st Street Business Improvement District, said Thursday, April 4, at the unveiling of the plaza’s newest sculpture.
Composed of wood and stainless steel, “Home Run” by LeMonde Studio — a Canadian design firm with an eye towards sustainability — is a multi-faceted art installation featuring a larger-than-life baseball bat, a baseball with indented grooves for sitting, a large home base and two circle patches of artificial grass along Walton Avenue. As one walks east, they will find a life-size photo frame with light bulbs around the perimeter. With the manipulation of a hand crank, the frame lights up and an old-time radio announcer voice exclaims, “Take me out to the ballgame!”
“Everyone in the industry told me I was crazy when I decided to come and work in the Bronx,” said Nicholas Synnott, COO of LeMonde Studios. “Everyone was like, ‘What are you doing? Go to Manhattan, this is where the big [Business Improvement Districts] are, this is where the money is,’ but we are all about engaging communities, getting the people to rally behind it and we’ve been overwhelmed by the community here.”
LeMonde Studio debuted in the Bronx in 2023 at Lou Gehrig Plaza for the 50th anniversary of hip-hop with their sculpture, “Boombox,” and have continued to provide public installations since. The purpose of the artworks is to revitalize the neighborhood and provide a space for community members and passersby to congregate.
On Thurday, Jenkins announced that the 161st Street BID will work with Metropolitan Urban Design (MUD) Workshop and Habitat Workshop to keep the plaza active year-round.
“We think that it’s really important in the context of small businesses, but also underserved communities and historically marginalized communities where this type of activation is not only vital, but I would say, the most impacting,” said Shachi Pandey, founding principal of MUD Workshop who was on site analyzing the area for future projects.
Opening day for Major League Baseball was Thursday, March 28, but Friday, April 5 marks the home opener for the Bronx Bombers. And while the historic franchise is known for holding the most World Series wins at 27, their performance last year was less than stellar as they avoided a losing season by the skin of their teeth with a standing of 82 wins and 80 losses.
“It definitely wasn’t a success, I know that,” said Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, the team’s captain, according to an MLB newsletter published in October 2023. “I think hopefully these guys in this room will use the extra four weeks that we’re going to get to prepare themselves and get ready for this next season.”
The Yankees are on a hot streak to start the season, having compiled a record of six wins and one loss and are playing their first home game against the Toronto Blue Jays at 1:05 p.m. Friday afternoon.
Reach ET Rodriguez at etrodriguez317@gmail.com. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
