Development of the Theme or Area of Significance The introduction of the Bandshell to Central Park was part of a national trend of constructing outdoor civic spaces for music and entertainment during the New Deal era. Bandstands and bandshells were built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) across the nation, providing new civic spaces for local communities. During the New Deal era, the WPA installed 228 bandstands and bandshells across the country. In addition to these, local governments and civic groups funded their own bandstands and bandshells, and the number of independently constructed bandstands and bandshells is unknown. 14 Glen Huntington Bandshell is an example of an independently commissioned Bandshell gifted to the City of Boulder by the Boulder Lions Club. The Lions Club was likely inspired by the national trend of bandshell construction in parks. The character-defining features of the bandshell are reminiscent of other prominent semi-circular concentric arched bandshells built during this time. 15 When the Bandshell was proposed, it was noted that the plans for the bandshell were similar to Grant Park Bandshell in Chicago, completed in 1931, which was modeled after the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles (built in 1922). A 1937 newspaper article noted that the bandshell in Sioux City, Iowa (built in 1935) may have also influenced the design. 16 Associated Property Types Glen Huntington Bandshell’s structural design is consistent with several types of bandshells that grew in popularity across the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. As a widely used performance space, the “American Bandshell” construction has ranged in styles from classical such as the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, New York, to modern, such as, the contemporary Pritzker Pavilion by Frank Gehry in downtown Chicago. The overall needs of the structure were consistent for each new bandshell construction – provide a structure that will enhance and project sound from the stage to an audience in an open air environment. At the same time Glen Huntington Bandshell was built, many bandshell structures, such as the 1922 Hollywood Bowl in California and the 1935 Sioux City Band Shell in Iowa, were designed to include similar iconic tapering concentric arches, utilized as a method of projection with large concrete wing walls. The American Bandshell structures provided a truly functional performance space and experience, while being of specific architectural styles of the period in which they were built. The Glen Huntington Bandshell stands as a rare example of art deco architecture in Boulder and is one of only two Colorado Bandshells from the early to mid-1900s.. Physical Characteristics and Integrity Glen Huntington Bandshell exemplifies the streamlined, simplified form and character-defining features of the Art Deco Style—semi-elliptical opening at the theater stage, six concentric interior arches, thick buttresses, and elevated stage. The landscape and amphitheater seating retain elements of original topography, circulation, and vegetation including the berm, historic grove, and the orientation of some of the sidewalks. Although a later addition, the fixed rows of seating also qualify as a character-defining feature. The Bandshell possesses a high degree of integrity and retains integrity of location, setting, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. The Bandshell remains in its original location within Central Park. The setting has undergone several changes since DeBoer’s initial design was implemented, with the largest alteration being the addition of seating in the late 1940s; however, this modification falls within the site’s recommended period of significance and is a character-defining feature of the site. DeBoer proposed an updated sketch plan for Central Park in 1947, which also included a sketch of the Bandshell with seating. 17 The Bandshell retains its original Art Deco design with no major modifications, giving it a high degree of integrity of design and workmanship. Many of the original materials of the Bandshell were replaced during the 1997 rehabilitation, but all were replaced in-kind, allowing the structure to retain its integrity of materials. As a structure within a park setting, the Bandshell remains as an open civic space, available for community events, retaining its association as a public space within Boulder. While still retaining its feeling as a civic space, some of this feeling is diminished by vandalism. 14 Rachel Carey, Music in Unconventional Spaces: The Changing Music Scene of the Great Depression America, 1929-1938 , (Harrisonburg, VA: James Madison University/ JMU Scholarly Commons, 2018), 26. 15 Front Range Associates, Boulder Bandshell , 8-9. 16 Ibid., 8. 17 S.R. DeBoer, Sketch of Proposed Civic Center and War Memorial , 1947.
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Glen Huntington Bandshell
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