To change things up a bit this month, I've decided to look at other buildings who's days are numbered. One very much worth a look is Atlanta's Turner Field which was home to Major League Baseball's Braves since 1997. But this facility was first born as Centennial Park for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Give credit where credit is due...most new purpose built arenas for the Olympics are left to rot once the games end. But this was one case where they managed to give the stadium an immediate new life by tearing down part of the stands and building a new section to baseball specifications. It looked like the Braves were set for decades to come.

I had the pleasure of visiting Turner Field last year for both a game and a tour. The place was filled with tributes to Braves greats from both the recent and distant past. Included was a museum that had artifacts dating back to their days in Boston, Milwaukee, and Fulton County Stadium. Two things that also stood out about Turner Field were the giant Chick fil A cow overhead and all the Coca-Cola banners. Both brands are based in Atlanta so that also meant my preferred cola flavor, Pepsi, was not easy to find.

The Braves had much success during their tenure at the Ted including a World Series championship and what seemed like 322 consecutive division titles. But the Braves it turned out weren't totally happy with their location then Cobb County came calling with an offer they couldn't refuse. Thus the Braves will be bucking the recent trend where most baseball teams have been moving closer to their regions' downtown. Why? Despite a great view of Atlanta's skyline, Turner Field is not really that convenient to downtown. It's separated from the central business district by a large freeway interchange and even the closest MARTA stop is about a mile on foot. And even with a great deal of surface parking, the Braves claim to be short on parking. A season ticket sales heat map of the greater Atlanta area shows most fans live north of the city and the new stadium site near Cumberland Mall would be more convenient for most of them. Finally, the community around the Ted continues to suffer from crime and poverty. The presence of major league sports there for almost 50 years and a number of efforts have not adequately mitigated these problems.

First, here's the pregame program for the first game ever played at Turner, a preseason game between the Braves and the New York Yankees. It has some interesting shots which show the now closed Fulton County stadium still standing nearby and a time lapse of changing the arena from an Olympic venue to a baseball one.

And here's a retrospective of Turner Field as it heads into its final year.

With the Braves in last place, the October 2, 2016 contest against the Detroit Tigers will be the final game at the Ted and mark the end of a rich era in baseball history.