Atlanta/Fulton County Stadium was the fourth home of the National League Braves and the first in Atlanta. The Braves two previous homes were Braves Field in Boston and County Stadium in Milwaukee.
Once nestled at the confluence of Interstates 75, 85, and 20, Fulton County Stadium is now a parking lot.
Unlike other lost ballparks, however, Fulton County Stadium is not quite gone or forgotten. Portions of the old ballpark remain in the parking lot adjacent to the Braves’ current home, Turner Field.
The stadium’s outer retaining wall, now painted blue, marks the outline of Fulton County Stadium.
The blue outer wall marks the area from the right field corner around to the first base side of home plate.
The infield, foul lines, and warning track are marked with brown pavers.
And if all that weren’t enough, the que de gras of the former Fulton County Stadium site is the portion of the metal, outfield fence marking where Hank Aaron’s record breaking home run number 715 cleared Dodger’s outfielder Bill Buckner and landed in the mit of Braves relief pitcher Tom House, who was standing in the Braves’ bullpen.
In 1997, the Braves moved across Hank Aaron Street to Turner Field.
The original plaque honoring Fulton County Stadium – Atlanta Stadium – is located in the plaza outside the main gate of Turner Field just south of Georgia Avenue.
Located on the northwest side of Turner Field at Aisle 134 is the Ivan Allen Jr. Braves Museum & Hall of Fame which includes over 600 Braves artifacts and photographs, including several items from Fulton County Stadium.
The Braves museums offers fans the chance to sit in Fulton County Stadium seats and relive Hank Aaron’s famous home run breaking Babe Ruth’s record of 714.
The Atlanta dugout is recreated as well, including the bat and helmet racks.
Fans are free to have a seat on the dugout bench or lean on the railing.
Former player lockers from Fulton County Stadium are used throughout the museum to display Atlanta Braves memorabilia.
The piece de resistance of the Braves museum is the actual ball that Hank Aaron hit over Fulton County Stadium’s left field wall to break Babe Ruth’s home run record of 714. Also on display is the bat Hammerin Hank used that day.
Any fan of the game visiting Atlanta or Turner Field should make a stop at the parking lot across the street. Thanks to the forward thinking of Atlanta officials, it is still possible visit Fulton County Stadium and experience its most famous moment. Once inside Turner Field, the Braves Museum and Hall of Fame is definitely worth the one token it costs to enter (approximately $2).
With the Braves announcement in November 2013 that the team will be leaving Turner Field at the end of the 2016 season for a new ballpark to be built in Cobb, a suburb ten miles north of Atlanta, the future of the Fulton County Stadium parking lot and stadium markers is now in doubt. Demolition of Turner Field is scheduled for 2017. Only time will tell what, if anything, will remain of Fulton County Stadium or Turner Field.
