I HAD BEEN GOING TO DODGER STADIUM with my dad for about 30 years before he pointed them out to me. “See that?” he asked, gesturing toward two rectangular panels of concrete on a far wall of the main seating structure. They looked almost like friezes, carved with inscrutable designs. My dad had been wondering about them for decades.
Turns out the pieces he’d spotted are just the beginning. Eventually I’d locate more custom bas-relief sculptures around the park — about a dozen in total. Smaller ones visible from the field-level entrances. Massive, multi-story pieces that wrap around certain outside corners of the building. They’re subtle: abstract scenes unadorned with color, camouflaged into the rest of their concrete environments, in some cases obscured by trees and bushes.
Two of the most visible concrete panels at the stadium. (Nate Rogers)
Once you notice them, they pull you in. I began looking at two of the most visible ones every time I walked by, wondering what the shapes are supposed to be. Could one be Sandy Koufax on the mound? Could another be Jackie Robinson stealing home?
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