Bandshells have a 19th century charm, but they’re also undergoing a 21st century renaissance. Middleton native Marjorie Kozich is tracking down every one in the state of Wisconsin, and her research is on her website, Wisconsin Bandshells and Stands.
Kozich started collecting information about Wisconsin bandstands after seeing a concert at a bandstand at Lake Harriet Park in Minneapolis. “It’s really quite lovely,” says Kozich in a phone interview. “We just happened upon it and it was a beautiful night, and I thought there should be a lot more of them around [Wisconsin].” She started looking at bandshells more closely and tried to figure out “where they all were.” Her friends were enthusiastic, noting that no one had ever pulled this info together.
Bandstands in public parks gained popularity in the United States after the Civil War. Most towns had community bands that provided public entertainment in the days long before even radio. The stands ranged from simple to architecturally quirky. Some were designed with acoustics in mind, helping amplify the sound of the band, says Kozich. Others were a basic platform with maybe a roof to protect from the elements.
Kozich says she started her research back in 2004, when she retired, then put it down for a few years before picking the project up again in 2015. At first she thought about publishing a book, but ultimately a website seemed “a lot more fun, plus things keep changing, new ones keep coming up.” A neighbor, a high school student, helped her set it up and “it went from there.”
Kozich has been to all of the 166 bandstands, bandshells and gazebos she’s included so far. “I think I have most of them now, but there’s always a new one coming along.”
Since about 2010, Kozich says, “there have been a lot of new ones built, though sometimes they call them performing centers or pavilions.” She notes that many towns have community bands that have been instrumental in creating these new stages in parks. “I think people in communities that have them, really enjoy them.”
Kozich doesn’t cover big concert stages “like Summerfest,” she says. “I do more local, free and public.”
It’s hard for her to choose favorites (“it’s usually the last one I’ve worked on”) but she is gratified that her hometown of Middleton is building a bandshell in the new Stone Horse Green park, at the site of the city’s first livery stable. She’s been involved in the project, including helping with fundraising: “We hope to have it up and going by September.”
Kozich says most of the older “charming and quaint” state bandstands are still in use: “They’re all really interesting to me, they’re all different and all have a different story behind them.”
Madison has two bandstands listed on Kozich’s site: the gazebo in Orton Park (which looks old but was built in 1979) and the stage at the UW Memorial Union Terrace, which is contemporary in style but does fulfill Kozich’s criteria of highlighting local music, and being free and public.
Browsing Kozich’s site will reward your looking. The bandstands are arranged in alphabetical order by location and each page usually contains a wealth of historical information, scanned newspaper clippings and photos, plus a Google map to the site and information on current performances. “Everybody’s really happy to give me information,” says Kozich.
