WISCONSIN BANDSHELLS AND STANDS
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Ashland

Mesang Band Shell​
Picture
3/22/2018
​
In 1933, the Mesang Band Shell concept was a part of the development of the Bay Front Park by landscape architect Phelps Wyman from Milwaukee.  The plans for the bandshell were prepared by Ashland architect Tom Shefchik.  Funding by the Civil Works Administration (CWA), a short term program established during the New Deal of the Great Depression, was approved and construction started.  However, before much work was done, funds were withdrawn. The City with Mayor John M. Dodd then organized a fund drive and obtained donations from the community to complete the project.  The total cost was $3,002.30.

The Band Shell was dedicated on July 11, 1934.  From the Daily Press, 7/12/1934:  "In the perfect setting made by Memorial Park with Chequamegon Bay as the background, the Ashland Band Shell, at last a reality instead of a vision in the minds of those who have carefully planned Ashland's park system, was dedicated last night before hundreds of persons who crowded the park and lined the streets for several blocks.  Before the exercises began, the American Legion drum corps marched to the shell, and executed their drills on the platform.  The perfect acoustic properties of the shell were then evident, when the roll of the drums and the notes of the trumpets were caught an sent back, to be heard far in the distance."

An American flag dominates the interior of the shell and was painted by "Ashland sign painter James Gundfry who first drew a picture of a rippling flag on the flat surface of a steriopticon slide.  With the slide on a steropticon machine Gundfry focused iton the bandshell ceiling and moved it forward and back until he achieved the size required - which then allowed him to paint the flag's outlines." (From WI Historical Society webpage)

 
The Band Shell is named in honor of Theodore Mesang who began his career in Ashland and was the band director for Ashland High School from 1930 to 1948.  He composed more than 200 musical compositions and in his later career became the band director at Oregon State University.    
 

​The Mesang Band Shell hosts concerts with music by various bands during the summer.
​  Listen to John Phillip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" played by the Ashland City Band at the end of each concert.

 
Picture
8/16/2018; The bandshell is located next to the Chequamegon Hotel - you can see its dome to the right from the water

Photos showing the 1933-34 construction of the bandshell; Source is the Ashland Historical Society 
Picture
Picture
Picture
As,reported by Rick Olivo of the Ashland Daily Press, 9/17/1996, the City determined that the bandshell was in jeopardy and was deteriorating because of leaks allowing water to infiltrate the structure.  Masonry was breaking loose and  the stucco on the overhang was starting to spall off.  Something needed to be done. The Ashland veterans groups agreed to begin fundraising.   Mayor Lowell Miller said "We either fix it or lose it.  We want to restore it to better than new condition" .  Further, he said that a partnership of citizen donations along with the veterans group drive along with city contributions would pay for the repairs. 
PictureAshland Daily Press; 4/16/1997

Again in 2006, the bandshell was in need of renovations, as reported by the Ashland Daily Press.  Two rooms on the sides of the stage were redone; in addition, paint and several sealant coats to the brick were added, leaking to the roof was repaired, and light expansion and the installation of several doors were completed.
Picture
Ashland Daily Press, 9/14/2006

PictureOne of the murals on the walk - a compilation of various Ashland storefronts from the early 1900’s
OTHER ASHLAND SITES​
​
​The eight block downtown Mural Walk in Ashland reflects the history of the community.  Kelly Meredith and Susan Prentice Martinsen created this visual eye catching artwork starting in 1998 and adding more over time.  They worked with the Ashland Historical Society to accurately portray the many murals in the downtown area.
 




Location

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  • About
  • WI Map of Sites
  • Sneak Peek of a Few
  • Index of All by Community
  • Information about Sites A - D
    • Albany
    • Amery
    • Antigo
    • Appleton Jones Park
    • Appleton Pierce Park
    • Ashland
    • Athens
    • Baraboo
    • Bayfield
    • Beaver Dam
    • Belleville
    • Beloit
    • Berlin
    • Black River Falls
    • Brandon
    • Brillion
    • Brodhead
    • Burlington
    • Cedarburg
    • Chilton
    • Chippewa Falls Irvine Park
    • Chippewa Falls Riverfront Park
    • Clear Lake
    • Crivitz
    • DeForest
    • Delavan
    • Durand
  • Information about Sites E - J
    • Eagle River
    • East Troy
    • Eau Claire
    • Edgerton
    • Egg Harbor
    • Elkhorn
    • Ephraim
    • Florence
    • Fond du Lac Buttermilk Creek Park
    • Fond du Lac Lakeside Park
    • Fort Atkinson
    • Franklin
    • Galesville
    • Germantown
    • Glendale
    • Grafton
    • Green Bay Botanical Garden
    • Green Bay St. James Park
    • Green Lake
    • Greendale
    • Greenfield
    • Hartford
    • Hartland
    • Hilbert
    • Holmen
    • Howard
    • Hudson
    • Hustisford
    • Janesville Marvin W. Roth Commnity Pavilion
    • Janesville JP Cullen Memorial Pavilion and Cope-Ryan Pavilion
    • Jefferson
  • Information about Sites K - Me
    • Kenosha
    • Kewaunee
    • Kewaskum
    • Kiel City Park
    • Kiel Hingiss Park
    • Kimberly
    • King
    • Kohler
    • La Crosse
    • Ladysmith
    • Lake Geneva
    • Lake Mills
    • Lancaster
    • Lebanon
    • Little Chute
    • Madison Orton Park
    • Madison U of WI Union Terrace
    • Manawa
    • Manitowish Waters
    • Manitowoc
    • Marinette
    • Marshall
    • Marshfield Columbia Park
    • Marshfield Wenzel Family Plaza
    • Mazomanie
    • Menomonee Falls Amphitheater
    • Menomonee Falls Bandstand
    • Menomonie
    • Mequon
    • Merrill
  • Information about Sites Mi - Q
    • Middleton
    • Milwaukee 3rd Ward
    • Milwaukee Humboldt Park
    • Milwaukee Indaba Bandshell
    • Milwaukee Kilbourn-Kadish Park
    • Milwaukee Lake Park
    • Milwaukee Peck Pavilion
    • Milwaukee Pere Marquette Park
    • Milwaukee Victory Over Violence Park
    • Milwaukee Washington Park
    • Milwaukee Zeidler Union Square
    • Monroe
    • Mosinee
    • Mt. Horeb
    • Mt. Morris
    • Neenah
    • Neillsville
    • New Holstein
    • Oconomowoc
    • Onalaska
    • Oostburg Bandstand
    • Oostburg Bandshell
    • Oregon
    • Oshkosh
    • Osseo
    • Peshtigo
    • Phillips
    • Platteville
    • Plover
    • Plymouth
    • Port Washington
  • Information about Sites R - S
    • Racine North Beach
    • Racine Zoo
    • Readstown
    • Reedsburg
    • Rhinelander Hodag Park Amphitheater
    • Rhinelander RiverWalk Bandshell
    • Rib Mountain State Park
    • Rice Lake
    • Richland Center
    • Ripon
    • River Falls
    • Rome
    • St. Francis
    • Sauk City
    • Saukville
    • Seymour
    • Shawano
    • Sheboygan City Green
    • Sheboygan Fountain Park
    • Sheboygan Lake View Park
    • Sheboygan Taylor Park
    • Shell Lake
    • Shullsburg
    • Siren
    • Sister Bay Gazebo/ Bandstand
    • Sister Bay Bandshell
    • Solon Springs
    • Sparta
    • Spring Green
    • Stevens Point
    • Stoughton
    • Stratford
    • Sturgeon Bay
    • Sun Prairie
    • Superior
  • Information about Sites T - Z
    • Thiensville
    • Tigerton
    • Tomah
    • Two Rivers Central Memorial Park
    • Two Rivers Neshota Park
    • Verona
    • Wabeno
    • Waterloo Firemen's Park
    • Waterford
    • Waterloo Veteran's Memorial Park
    • Watertown
    • Watertown Bentzin Family Town Square
    • Waukesha - Frame Park
    • Waukesha
    • Waunakee
    • Waupaca
    • Waupaca Rotary Riverview Park
    • Wausau 400 BLOCK
    • Wausau Hammond Park
    • Wausau Marathon Park
    • Wauwatosa
    • Wauwatosa Mayfair Collection
    • West Bend Old Settlers Triangle Park
    • West Bend Silver Lining Stage
    • West Bend Strachota Bandstand
    • West Salem
    • Whitehall
    • Whitewater
    • Williams Bay Ferro Pavilion
    • Wi Dells
    • Wi Dells Elm Street Plaza
    • WI Rapids
    • Wittenberg
  • Index of All by Community
  • About
  • Index of All by Community
  • Wi Dells