Tour Boston's Historic Fenway Park

In April 1912, during a week in which the headlines were filled with stories about the sinking of the Titanic, a new ballpark opened in Boston. Because it was located in the neighborhood known as the Fenway, the stadium was named Fenway Park. Today, Fenway Park is the oldest ballpark in the major leagues, and the present-day version of the Boston Red Sox continue to play at the same location the team has called home for generations.

The Red Sox are in the midst of a record streak in which they've sold out more than 600 consecutive games at Fenway Park. Getting a ticket to see the team is next to impossible. Fortunately, however, getting inside the ballpark for a behind-the-scenes tour is not as difficult.

Every day, a Fenway Park tour is offered to the public. The 50-minute tour operates year-round, and offers visitors to Boston the chance to see the ballpark where legends like Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski played for the Red Sox.

Highlights of the tour include a visit to the top of the famed left-field wall known as the Green Monster. The 37-foot wall is the most recognizable feature in any American ballpark. Because it is located so close to home plate, power-hitters take aim - driving balls off of it, or over it. For years, the wall was topped by a screen that prevented batted balls from falling onto the street below. In 2003, however, seats were added atop the wall. Because of the unique vantage point for watching games, Fenway Park's "Monster Seats" - as they are known - quickly became some of the most coveted tickets in all of sports.

Located in the wall is one of the last hand-operated scoreboards in baseball. Operators stand in a cramped passageway within the wall and hang numbered wooden planks to indicate runs, hits and errors. Adorning the walls inside the Fenway Park scoreboard are the autographs of big league players from the Red Sox and other teams who have ventured inside for a peek over the years.

Another featured stop on the Fenway Park tour is a single red seat located in the grandstand deep behind right field. In 1946, Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams hit a home run that landed on this spot, more than 500 feet from home plate. An Albany, NY man who was attending the game had the ball punch a hole in his straw hat. People on the tour, like fans who attend games at Fenway Park, love to sit in the seat and look back toward home plate for an idea of the tremendous distance the home run had to travel.

Depending on the day you attend, the season, the activity in the ballpark, and especially whether the Red Sox are playing at home that day, the tour might also include stops in the dugouts and the bullpens where all of the game's greats have looked on as season after season unfolded.

A tour of Fenway Park, known as "America's most beloved ballpark," cost $12 for adults and $10 for children under 15. They depart hourly beginning at 9am until 4pm. Activity in the park may preclude the tour on some dates and times, so check www.redsox.com for specifics. Fenway Park is located at 4 Yawkey Way in Boston's Back Bay.