201 West Arnold Street

Summary

Columbia Park Band Shell
201 W. Arnold Street, Marshfield, Wood County
Builder: Frank Felhofer
Date of construction: 1931

The City of Marshfield built the Art Deco style Columbia Park Band Shell in 1931 as a replacement for a smaller wooden band stand. The earlier band stand had been built in Columbia Park in 1903 and was demolished in 1927. By 1929, plans for a new music facility for the park were ready, but the proposed Neo-Classical Revival style wooden band shell proved to be too expensive to build at that time. By 1931, however, the desire to provide free summer entertainment to the citizens of the city and the need to alleviate local unemployment caused by the Great Depression convinced the Marshfield City Council to once again consider the construction of a new music facility in the park. Fortunately, revised plans drawn up in the interim for a new Art Deco style brick band shell proved to be affordable after a local brick company offered the City the necessary brick at a greatly reduced price. By the summer of 1932, the new band shell was in operation and it continues to host both musical and non-musical events.

The band stand is located in the city's oldest park, Columbia Park. The park consists of a full city block that is bounded by N. Walnut Ave., W. Arnold St., N. Chestnut Ave., and W. Blodgett St. The estate of Samuel Marsh donated this block in 1875 for use as a park. A historic residential neighborhood surrounds the park, and the outstanding Gothic Revival style St. John's Catholic Church, built in 1894, is located on W. Blodgett St. directly across from the park.

The City of Marshfield owns and operates the band shell; it is accessible to the public during normal park hours.

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