Sauk City
Free Congregation Park Hall Bandstand; Free Thinkers Hall Bandstand
8/15/2017
The eight-sided wooden raised bandstand is located on the grounds of the Free Congregation of Sauk County. The grounds encompass one city block with the Fellowship Hall which occupies one end of the block bordering on Polk Street. Large tall oak trees grow in the park with the bandstand centered in it. It is the third one on these grounds. After a storm in 2012 that damaged the bandstand, the current one was completed in 2014.
From the Sauk Prairie Eagle newspaper, September 28, 2014, describing the bandstand's history:
For 137 years, the grounds of the Free Congregation’s Park Hall have housed a bandstand.
That nearly came to an end in July 2012 when a wind storm almost destroyed the longstanding outdoor performance venue. On Sept. 27, (2014), the rebuilt bandstand again boomed with the sounds of a brass band as locals celebrated its completion.
“It took us two years before we got it done,” said Free Congregation administrator Susan Larkin. The bandstand was almost unrecognizable after the storm. Many of the old oak trees on the grounds were damaged in the storm, and one downed limb landed right on the bandstand. Another fell on Park Hall itself. With the completion of the bandstand, the signs of damage from the storm are gone, replaced with the sound of music. A few musicians from the Royal Coachmen of Madison sat in a circle with their horns and tubas Sept. 27 playing Americana themed songs high above the audience that sat in lawn chairs outside.
The structure is the third bandstand on the grounds, and looks much as it did in photos provided by the Sauk Prairie Area Historical Society dated from the late 1800s. The original was built by early German immigrants known as “The ‘49ers” after arriving in 1848, the same year Wisconsin became a state.
The bandstand predates Park Hall by nearly 40 years. The hall itself was built in 1884. “This was the social hub of Sauk City,” Free Congregation board member John Lichtenheld said of the bandstand and later Park Hall. “It has a bar. These were all Germans and the only place you could drink. They had a lot of festivals.”
The latest version of the bandstand was constructed by Ron Zeman of Zeman Home Improvement in Sauk City and the roof replacement was handled by Hasheider Roofing and Siding of Prairie du Sac. The corbels that adorn the bandstand are among the original craft work. “We wanted it to be historically accurate,” Lichtenheld said. “It sat idle. It’s not used that much. We’ll have some events out here two or three times a year now.”
Lichtenheld said the bandstand was last renovated in 1989 by a group of Amish craftsmen. “We had to pick them up and drive them in because they don’t drive cars,” Lichtenheld recalled.
From the Sauk Prairie Eagle newspaper, September 28, 2014, describing the bandstand's history:
For 137 years, the grounds of the Free Congregation’s Park Hall have housed a bandstand.
That nearly came to an end in July 2012 when a wind storm almost destroyed the longstanding outdoor performance venue. On Sept. 27, (2014), the rebuilt bandstand again boomed with the sounds of a brass band as locals celebrated its completion.
“It took us two years before we got it done,” said Free Congregation administrator Susan Larkin. The bandstand was almost unrecognizable after the storm. Many of the old oak trees on the grounds were damaged in the storm, and one downed limb landed right on the bandstand. Another fell on Park Hall itself. With the completion of the bandstand, the signs of damage from the storm are gone, replaced with the sound of music. A few musicians from the Royal Coachmen of Madison sat in a circle with their horns and tubas Sept. 27 playing Americana themed songs high above the audience that sat in lawn chairs outside.
The structure is the third bandstand on the grounds, and looks much as it did in photos provided by the Sauk Prairie Area Historical Society dated from the late 1800s. The original was built by early German immigrants known as “The ‘49ers” after arriving in 1848, the same year Wisconsin became a state.
The bandstand predates Park Hall by nearly 40 years. The hall itself was built in 1884. “This was the social hub of Sauk City,” Free Congregation board member John Lichtenheld said of the bandstand and later Park Hall. “It has a bar. These were all Germans and the only place you could drink. They had a lot of festivals.”
The latest version of the bandstand was constructed by Ron Zeman of Zeman Home Improvement in Sauk City and the roof replacement was handled by Hasheider Roofing and Siding of Prairie du Sac. The corbels that adorn the bandstand are among the original craft work. “We wanted it to be historically accurate,” Lichtenheld said. “It sat idle. It’s not used that much. We’ll have some events out here two or three times a year now.”
Lichtenheld said the bandstand was last renovated in 1989 by a group of Amish craftsmen. “We had to pick them up and drive them in because they don’t drive cars,” Lichtenheld recalled.
The bandstand is available for use and interested parties should consult the Free Congregation of Sauk County.
 8/15/2017
Also from the Sauk Prairie Eagle newspaper, September 28, 2014, describing the Free Congregation: The establishment of the Free Congregation of Sauk County was in 1852. Today the Free Congregation enjoys steady growth in membership, due in part to a closer relationship, since about 2001, with Unitarian Universalism; due also, no doubt, to the dramatic increase, over the last two decades, in the number of Americans who identify themselves as religiously agnostic or unaffiliated and possibly, to the fact that our young century has seen a steep rise in religious fundamentalism and intolerance, both within traditional faiths. Perhaps the turbulent first years of the 21st century provide even more incentive for revisiting the values and principles of our Freie Gemeinde founders. Those freethinking pioneers would surely agree: only by understanding our history can we move thoughtfully forward. |
8/15/2017
8/15/2017
|
Location |