WISCONSIN BANDSHELLS AND STANDS
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Beaver Dam

Swan Park Bandshell
TIS THE SEASON - December 2021 AT SWAN PARK
Photos courtesy of Mike Throndsen; lighting provided by Beaver Dam Rotary
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​
​The dome-shaped bandshell located in the center of Swan Park was dedicated at the Harvest Festival on Sunday evening, August 26, 1934. The program included the American Legion Band with W. J. Harder, Director, in Part I and with various trios, solos, bands, and orchestras in Part II.

​
Orrin Hofferbert, president of the Beaver Dam Park Improvement Committee
and a chief electrical engineer at Monarch Range Company designed the bandshell which was modeled after the both the Swift and the Ford Bandshells at the Century Progress in Chicago.  Permanent wooden benches provide seating for the audience.
​

Mr. Hofferbert also created a multicolored light and water show at the front of the stage area.  "Light streams like fireworks from a fountain in a lagoon, tumbles from a six foot waterfall, or rises in sheets with the water curtain of the band shell at a never ending series of musical events...." written by Richard C. Kienitz of the Milwaukee Journal, Sunday, September 23, 1956.  Photos at the Dodge County Historical Society show acts that performed over time included elephants on the stage, trapeze artists, trampoline acts, and Native American acts.  By the mid 1970s, the fountain and lights ended because the equipment had become obsolete. 

​

Today, free regular concerts are held on Wednesday evenings with attendance ranging from 100 to 400. 
​A schedule can be found on the Beaver Dam Community Band's Facebook page. 
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From 1935 Card 6 of Series 1 issued by Dodge County Historical Society
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Historic post card photo by Larry Keegstra
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OTHER HISTORICAL FEATURES AT SWAN PARK
Swan Park was originally known in 1881 as Vita Park.  A spa hotel and cottage were built on the grounds by Dr. G. E. Swan.  People traveled yearly from as far away as New Orleans to drink the water from Vita Mineral Spring and to bathe in it also.  At a small ornate bandstand, concerts featuring the local Harder's Band were held.  In 1905, the City of Beaver Dam purchased the property for $15,000.   After much contention about it, voters approved of the purchase.  By 1915, the Park was restored.  The spring was capped and closed in the early 1930s.  In April, 1980, the pavilion was placed on the National Register of Historical Places.  The Vita Spring Pavilion along with Dr. Swan's home is found on the National Register of Historic Places.  Much more information can be found at the Wisconsin Academy Review, Volume 22, No. 1, December 1975.   
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Vita Spring Park Pavilion

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