Band says farewell to old Marshall band shell
Wed. concert was municipal band\'s last at Marshall\'s 1951 band shell
Photo by Deb Gau The Marshall Municipal Band's concert Wednesday evening wasn't just its last one of the season. It was also the band's final performance at the Liberty Park band shell. The city plans to replace the 75-year-old structure after its wooden frame has shown serious deterioration.
Photo by Deb Gau Kids who took part in the traditional children's march at the municipal band concert each received a treat.
Photo by Deb Gau The Marshall Municipal Band's concert Wednesday evening wasn't just its last one of the season. It was also the band's final performance at the Liberty Park band shell. The city plans to replace the 75-year-old structure after its wooden frame has shown serious deterioration.
Photo by Deb Gau Kids who took part in the traditional children's march at the municipal band concert each received a treat.
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MARSHALL -- Over 75 years, the Marshall band shell has been the site of countless concerts and performances in Liberty Park. But as the Marshall Municipal Band wrapped up its season this week, members were saying farewell to the band shell.
"This is our final concert of the year, and our final concert at this band shell," Marshall Municipal Band co-director John Voit told the audience Wednesday evening.
The city is planning to demolish the band shell and replace it with a new structure.
"A lot of people think the band shell is made of cement, but it's actually not. It's wood covered with plaster," band member Brad Louwagie explained during the concert. That wooden structure is now starting to fall down, he said.
Wednesday's band concert included a variety of songs in genres from marches to 1950s rock 'n’ roll. The concert also kept up a tradition of inviting kids in the audience to parade through the park for a children's march. However, band members also encouraged audience members to visit an informational table to learn more about the plans for a new band shell.
"I did have a number of people who stopped by," said Jasmine DeSmet, community education coordinator for Marshall Community Services.
The current band shell at Liberty Park was built in 1951. Over the years, the wooden framework inside the structure has started to deteriorate, and the band shell has also started to shift off its foundations. Marshall Parks and Recreation Superintendent Preston Stensrud said the structure was shored up, but the band shell still needed to be replaced.
The city of Marshall has been awarded a $498,000 grant from the Minnesota Historical Society to replace the band shell. The Marshall Sunrise Rotary also donated $100,000 toward the project. In March, the city council approved a proposal from a Sioux Falls firm to do design and engineering work.
Marshall City Administrator Sharon Hanson said the band shell project doesn't have a completed design concept yet. Members of a band shell advisory committee have been able to provide feedback on some potential design possibilities, she said.
The city also received more than 250 responses in a public survey about what local residents would like to see from a band shell, Hanson said.
"We're hoping to go through the information we received," and bring the results to the committee, she said.
Hanson said the goal would be to start construction of a new band shell in 2027.
The old band shell carried a lot of memories, said municipal band members and audience members at Wednesday's concert.
"It has been standing for a lot of years. I started playing in 1981, I believe," Louwagie said.
Although the band shell has been an asset for the community, local residents agreed the structure needed some help.
"It's time for a new one, unfortunately," said Paulette Hanson. Hanson came to Liberty Park to hear Wednesday's concert, but she also used to play in the band, she said.
Some local residents said they hoped that a new band shell could keep the same look as the 1951 structure.
"It's such a landmark for Marshall," said Deb Anderson.