A construction team is hard at work with saws, sanders, and other equipment in a Santa Barbara park. They are restoring a historic, but often overlooked architectural gem in the city. It’s more than 130 years old.
They are restoring the Alameda Park Bandstand, which was built in 1888.
"Members of the community wanted an entertainment venue in the park," said Nicole Hernandez, the City of Santa Barbara’s Architectural Historian.
She said it was very popular, hosting concerts over the decades.
The Alameda Park Bandstand looks like something you’d see in a classic black-and-white movie. The wooden structure has a huge set of stairs, which lead up to a platform that’s big enough that it could easily accommodate a dozen piece band. It’s capped with an ornate roof.
But, time has not been kind to the structure, which was last restored more than 40 years ago.
"The bandstand in Alameda (Park) is a fantastic resource that the community has enjoyed for many, many years," said Jill Zachary, who is Director of the City of Santa Barbara’s Parks and Recreation Department Director. "It fell into pretty serious disarray, it became unsafe, and was a key priority for us but, frankly funding was our major challenge."
But, Zachary pushed for the project. The price tag was estimated at around $300,000.
Santa Barbara got a $216,000 Community Development Block Grant from the federal government, and added $110,000 from its general fund. After some weather delays, the work is underway.
Zachary said they’ve been trying to get the restoration effort done by the end of this month. She said it’s exciting to finally see the work underway.
"The whole roof is being replaced, the entire structure is being repainted, we also had to redo the flooring, we had to deal with missing decorative trim pieces, and a lot of wood rot," said Zachary.
She said they are hoping it will once again not only be a historic gem, but a gathering place for community concerts and events. Her department is hoping to find sponsors for a regular series of free concerts at the bandstand.
Once the structural work is done on the Alameda Park Bandstand it will be repainted to match its existing colors. Those working on the project hope it will connect people today with a colorful part of the community’s past.
