The Lake Harriet Bandshell is only in full operation for about three months each year. That said, the iconic Minneapolis music venue, located at the lake’s north end, is always exposed to Minnesota’s unrelenting elements. That exposure has taken its toll. In recent years, concertgoers may have noticed the weathering of the landmark bandshell’s shingles and wooden siding, and several large holes have emerged.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) announced recently that it will be rehabilitating the Lake Harriet Bandshell and its neighbor, the Lake Harriet Pavilion, which houses the Bread & Pickle restaurant. According to information released by the MPRB, the existing roofing is 36 years old, and springtime exposure to high winds has further deteriorated the condition of the cedar shingles.

The MPRB notes that the food-service pavilion is faring worse than its musical neighbor, and that its roof will be replaced first. The design firm of Bentz Thompson Reito is currently conducting a thorough study of the buildings and will provide results and recommendations to the MPRB. The repair work is currently out to bid, and work is expected to take place in the autumn. The MPRB did not respond to requests for further comment, but vitally for concertgoers, regular concerts as well as food service and access to restrooms is expected to continue uninterrupted during summer 2022.

A vital part of city life

Live music has been part of summertime at Lake Harriet since 1888. The existing bandshell was constructed in 1986; it was modeled loosely on one of the lake’s early bandshells, pictured below.

The very first bandshell from the 1880s was destroyed by fire in 1891. Its successor, pictured above, was built later that same summer and remained in place until it too was destroyed by fire in 1901. In 1904, a new pavilion opened that housed a restaurant on the ground floor and a 2,000-seat concert venue, with space for dancing, on the open-air roof. Inspired in part by the architecture at the World’s Colombian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, the Classic Revival pavilion endured until 1925, at which point it was destroyed during a possible tornado.

In 1927, the Park Board erected a utilitarian “temporary” bandstand — the word “temporary” always appears in quotation marks whenever the 1927 bandstand is referenced because it remained in use until it was razed in the 1980s to make space for the current structure.

From Memorial Day until Labor Day, the Lake Harriet Bandshell plays host to numerous concerts across many genres, all of them offered at no charge to concertgoers. A recent concert of note is the Jayhawks’ concert held on August 12, 2021, which drew thousands to Lake Harriet park for the free show.

Upcoming shows for the early part of the 2022 season include Dan Israel (June 4), Kashimana and the Mamas Ignite Collective (June 9), The Belfast Cowboys (June 10), Prairie Fire Lady Choir (June 17), Cantus (June 19) and Jaspar Lepak (July 7). More shows, including the Music & Movies series, will be announced later.

External Link

Music & Movies - Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board site