Fenway Park remained unchanged until a May 8, 1926 fire destroyed bleachers along the left field line. John Quinn, the owner at the time, simply carted the charred remains out of the park; because of a lack of funds, he didn't bother to rebuild the bleachers. Left fielders didn't complain — they were able catch foul balls for outs behind the stands.

Tom Yawkey, who bought the financially strapped club in 1933, began a major overhaul of the park. The revitalization project, however, came to a screeching halt on January 5, 1934 when a second fire ravaged the building for five hours. Few areas of the ballpark were left undamaged.

Construction crews worked diligently to reconstruct the ballpark in time for the season opener on April 17, 1934. And when Fenway Park did open that day, it had a new look.

Concrete bleachers replaced the wood bleachers in centerfield. Duffy's Cliff was leveled off — though not completely. And the 37-foot wooden left field wall was replaced by a more durable, 37-foot sheet metal structure. In 1936, a 23-1/2-foot tall screen was added on top of the wall to better protect the windows of buildings on adjoining Lansdowne Street. When the wall's advertisements were covered by green paint in 1947, Fenway Park's signature feature — the Green Monster — was born