Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Back to the Bleak Years

Getting back to why this blog was created in the first place, today we’re featuring a look at how some of the Green Bay Packers’ facilities looked in the late 1980s-early 1990’s. Above is a somewhat rare look inside the previous indoor training facility, nicknamed affectionately(?) “The Barn.” It sat on the same site as the current Don Hutson Center, which opened in 1994. If we remember correctly, the Packers held their mini-camps in Arizona while the Hutson Center was being completed that year.

Here is an aerial image of Lambeau Field as it appeared through the Mike Holmgren/Ron Wolf era when the franchise was resurrected from years of mediocrity. Of course, things look quite different now following the redevelopment phase of 2001-2003. At upper center/right, you can see “The Barn” where the Don Hutson Center now sits. Notable as well in the photo are the Packers’ administrative offices extending off of the North end of the stadium (lower left corner). These are the offices that were built in 1963 during Vince Lombardi’s reign, and greatly expanded in several phases afterwards. They no longer exist in this form, and now take up a few floors of the Atrium facility.

This photo depicts the Packers’ corporate offices in the former administrative building that was mentioned above. This area was remodeled a few times after this photo was taken, even before the total remodeling of the latest phase. The Packers Pro Shop started out as a tiny alcove off this lobby behind the reception desk at upper right. It now takes up the first floor of the Atrium’s building/tower facility. That is the Super Bowl II Lombardi Trophy on display in this photo, in case you were wondering.