WISCONSIN BANDSHELLS AND STANDS
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Athens

Village Square Bandstand

The charming bandstand is located in the center of the small Village of Athens, in the 0.2 acre Village Square Park.  On summer weekends, it hosts band concerts.  In 1934, it replaced an older 1890 bandstand.

From The 100 Year Centennial Book by Marilyn Sjostrom, 1991:

In 1934, a new bandstand was built with some up-to-date designing.  According to the ATHENS RECORD, it was not only larger, but 'its interior contains a feature calculated to insure greater enjoyment.  We refer to the peculiar construction of the ceiling, which is built low and rounded, in conformance to a well known law of the science of acoustics.  This method of construction is similar to that of the sound chambers in talking machines and radios.'   It was Gust Gruenewald's idea to apply this feature to the new building.

In the old bandstand, the ceiling extended to the roof and the effect was to considerably garble and mutilate the efforts of the band.  All the 'um-pah-pahs' proceeded directly to the top of the ceiling and stayed there for some length of time until they were driven out in perverted form by the next "um" if that happened to be of an explosive character.  Sometimes when the whole chamber was full, it took a great many forceful "blahs" from the trombones and baritones and "bums" from the big drum to get the music out to the audience on the street.  The 'tweedle dees' of the clarinets and the moans of the saxophones had no chance at all and were often hopelessly lost in this cavernous chamber.


The Old Timers Band has been an important part of the community since 1892, playing German-style music.  A Swedish mill worker, John Carlson, organized the first band and encouraged fellow mill workers to join.  They raised $75 to purchase cornets and alto horns.  During the winter months, they learned to play and practiced, often disturbing local villagers at night.  By the following summer they were proficient enough to play at various picnics and gatherings.  The band has continued over time with many band directors and still plays to this day.


Often on weekends concerts are held and in August there is the Athens Fair.
Picture
Old Timers Band in front of the 1934 replacement bandstand
Picture
July 4, 1904; Old Timers Band dressed in minstrel attire in front of the original bandstand.
 

Location

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  • About
  • WI Map of Sites
  • Sneak Peek of a Few
  • Index of All by Community
  • Information about Sites A - E
    • Albany
    • Amery
    • Antigo
    • Appleton Jones Park
    • Appleton Pierce Park
    • Ashland
    • Athens
    • Baraboo
    • Belleville
    • Beaver Dam
    • Beloit
    • Berlin
    • Black River Falls
    • Brandon
    • Brodhead
    • Burlington
    • Chippewa Falls Irvine Park
    • Chippewa Falls Riverfront Park
    • Cedarburg
    • Clear Lake
    • DeForest
    • Delavan
    • Durand
    • Eagle River
    • East Troy
    • Eau Claire
    • Edgerton
    • Egg Harbor
    • Elkhorn
  • Information about Sites F - J
    • 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
    • Holmen
    • 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
    • Kimberly
    • King
    • Kohler
    • La Crosse
    • Ladysmith
    • Lake Geneva
    • Lake Mills
    • Lebanon
    • Madison Orton Park
    • Madison U of WI Union Terrace
    • Manawa
    • Manitowoc
    • Marinette
    • Marshall
    • Marshfield Columbia Park
    • Marshfield Wenzel Family Plaza
    • Mazomanie
    • Menomonee Falls
    • Menomonie
    • Mequon
    • Merrill
  • Information about Sites Mi - Q
    • 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
    • Neillsville
    • Oconomowoc
    • 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
    • Rice Lake
    • Richland Center
    • Ripon
    • Sauk City
    • Saukville
    • Seymour
    • Shawano
    • Sheboygan City Green
    • Sheboygan Fountain Park
    • Sheboygan Lake View Park
    • Shell Lake
    • Siren
    • Sister Bay Gazebo/ Bandstand
    • Sister Bay Bandshell
    • Solon Springs
    • Sparta
    • Spring Green
    • Stevens Point
    • Stoughton
    • Stratford
    • Sturgeon Bay
    • Superior
  • Information about Sites T - Z
    • Thiensville
    • Tigerton
    • Tomah
    • Two Rivers Central Memorial Park
    • Two Rivers Neshota Park
    • Wabeno
    • Waterloo Firemen's Park
    • Waterloo Veteran's Memorial Park
    • Watertown
    • Waukesha
    • Waunakee
    • Waupaca
    • Waupaca Rotary Riverview Park
    • Wausau 400 BLOCK
    • Wausau Hammond Park
    • Wausau Marathon Park
    • Wauwatosa
    • West Bend Old Settlers Triangle Park
    • West Bend Strachota Bandstand
    • West Bend Silver Lining Stage
    • Whitehall
    • Williams Bay Ferro Pavilion
    • Wi Dells
    • WI Rapids
    • Wittenberg