Shelby  County,  Indiana,  Landmarks

Bandstand  Still  Stands



          Imagine a hot summer evening with no TV and no air conditioning.  There is nothing to do.  That was until the bandstand of Shelbyville, Indiana was built in 1935.
          During the Depression of the 1930's, President Roosevelt signed a bill that established the WPA (Works Progress Administration).  The WPA was something that gave people who didn't have a job a chance to get a job.
          In 1934 the local director of the FERA (Federal Emergency Relief Administration), a part of the WPA,  Ernest  Kennedy,  allowed the FERA to build a bandstand at the  Laura  Morrison  Park for Sunday night concerts.  When Mr. Kennedy decided to have his workers build the bandstand, he started to design it.  He designed it with an orchestra pit on front and a room underneath for musical instruments such as the piano and the drums and other things.  When it was built there was to be a corridor on each side of the shell.
         The construction began on August 20, 1934.  Clyde Yater, City Engineer, designed the blue prints for the building.  When building, the cost was little becasue the brick, steel and gravel were available free at the time.  It cost $1200 to build the bandstand.  To build the bandstand now it would cost several hundred thousand dollars.
          The building was to be 60 feet long and 30 feet wide, with a large room in the basement suitable for banquets or club meetings.  Covering the stage was a shell shaped like a quarter of a sphere.  The bandstand was located on the north side of the park facing the hill on the west.  This created a natural amphitheatre.
          The band shell was dedicated on July 1, 1935.  There were about 1,500 people present.  The 151st Infantry band, directed by  George  Dunn,  played for the dedication.
          In 1972  Roland  Hobart  painted a design on the shell.  Some of the painting is still visible today.  When talking to Mr. Hobart on the phone, he was very nice.  One of the things he said to me was, "To this day I am still wondering what meaning that painting had to me".
          In 1997 the Shelbyville Parks Department had a survey done to determine how much it would cost to repair the bandstand.  It would cost $125,000.  Today it would probably cost more.  [Inflation calculator]
          It is present day and the bandstand still stands.  I asked our local mayor if I could enter the basement of the bandstand, but he said it was unsafe.  At one time there were 70-80 bandstands of this type in Indiana.  Today there are only 13 left.  That's sad.

This report was made for Mrs. Vaught's 4th Grade "Strive" program at Coulston Elementary School, Shelbyville, IN.  The author/artist received a "Grand Champion" award on her bandstand display at the Shelby County Fair!

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