Brodhead
Veterans Memorial Park Bandstand
3/4/2018
The Bandstand located in Veterans Memorial Park (formerly South Side Park until 1990) was built in 1933. The Brodhead Historical Society reports in Brodhead's Independent Register, 11/16/1933, "Brodhead's new band stand pictured above was completed last summer. Storage rooms, as well as restrooms have been built into the basement. The total cost of the new structure was between $800 and $900." Funding came from the Works Progress Administration (WPA). On 5/31/1934, the Independent Register reported that it was used for the first time by the Brodhead High School as part of a community Memorial Service.
The historic bandstand is built of concrete with steps leading to the stage area. No roof structure covers it, so it is easy to miss from the road. The current paintings on the walls next to the steps of the bandstand were added recently.
One painting is of the First Brigade Band, organized in 1857. It was a highly regarded band which took part in the Civil War as a regimental band and participated in the Grand Review in Washington DC in May 1865. The band has been recreated and uses instruments from the Civil War era and has performed at the park, either on or near the Brodhead bandstand.
The second painting is of the Clarence Covered Bridge, built in 1866 over the Sugar River southwest of Brodhead, on what is now Highway 11. The bridge collapsed in 1931 when a heavy truck drove over it. A replica of the bridge has been built over the Norwegian Creek on the Sugar River State Trail.
OTHER PARK HISTORICAL FEATURES
3/4/2018
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 3/4/2018
A statue of a Civil War soldier stands in the middle of the park, "Erected in Honor to the Defenders of the Union, From 1861-1865 by W.W. Patton, Relief Corps Dept. of Wis. and Other Patriotic Citizens", June 18, 1914. Other bench memorials to the various branches of service sit in front of the Civil War statue and surround a fountain. |
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