Long live the ’stick
Candlestick Park, otherwise known as "the ’stick," has always been among the city’s most treasured venues—even now, as it faces demolition. For more than half a century it was the stage for many of the nation’s great sporting dramas, starring the likes of Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, and Juan Marichal and Willie Mays. It was built in 1958 in Bay View Heights with reinforced concrete and 10,000 parking spaces, making it America’s first modern ball park. In 1971, it also became home to the 49ers. The new park became iconic partly because its architects never understood the wind anomalies of the location. Had they built it just 100 yards farther north, the ’stick might never have been the bitter-cold wind tunnel that it was. But even that became part of its charm. Going to games, whether baseball or football, was a right of passage for young San Franciscans.
In 2000, the Giants got their own stadium, leaving the 49ers as sole tenants of Candlestick Park. In the fall of 2014, the 49ers moved on, too, and began playing in a new stadium in Santa Clara. There are those among the Niner faithful who insist that when the ’stick was abandoned, the city lost part of its soul. For many, it is pure tragedy to see this hallowed ground reduced to malls and condos, as younger generations will no longer have the chance to “touch” the sheer beauty and power of that moment in January 1982 when Joe Montana called the play, “Red Right Tight—Sprint Right Option,” and found Dwight Clarke in the back corner of the end zone. It was “the catch” that won the game, sent the 49ers on to their first Super Bowl, and launched a decade of dominance and enduring civic pride.
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Address 490 Jamestown Avenue, San Francisco, CA, 94124 | Public Transport Bus: 29 (Gilman Ave & Bill Walsh Way stop) | Tip For a tasty rotisserie chicken, visit Limon Rotisserie at 5800 3rd Street.
Candlestick Point Park, located behind the stadium, is a hidden gem for a different kind of sports fan. It offers hiking, bicycling, and bird watching, and is a popular entry point for windsurfers on the bay.
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