For a base bid of $567,900, Lundy Construction Co. was awarded the contract for repairing the bandshell, built in 1913 and dedicated the next June.

As Bruce Huffman, a city resident and historical researcher, once told the City Council – perhaps no other building was as deserving of such preservation and rehabilitation.

The bandshell is where the city has long held many special events and concerts, and it provides a stage for Festival of Lights, the annual holiday and Christmas kick-off, a backdrop for Easter Egg hunt in spring and Arbor Day a few weeks later.

It has been the site of concerts in the park and ceremonies to showcase local talented musicians and bands.

It is the only structure in the city whose idea and original purpose was conceived by a Williamsport pastor, the Rev. William C. Rittenhouse, a senior pastor of St. John’s Reformed Church, who proposed to erect a building from which suitable religious services and secular services may be held.

Construction of the project concluded in November 1913. However, it was not dedicated until June of 1914 at a special ceremony.

The idea for the bandshell was sparked by those in the community attending religious services who could not hear the sermons well, according to Sun-Gazette archival information and interviews during the tour of the revitalization.

It has a half-moon or shell shape, giving a reverberation to voices and sound on the stage.

The cost for the revitalization project was paid for by a donation of $109,000 from First Community Foundation Partnership Inc., $20,000 from Lycoming County and the remainder a Community Development Block Grant, said Valerie Fessler, city grants writer.

Fred S. Machmer, Lundy Co.’s estimator, anticipates the work to be completed by the end of July, after originally thinking it might be closer to Labor Day.

Efforts are being made to hold “Movies in the Park,” at the bandshell stage, said Scott Livermore, general manager of the city public works department. This would be in coordination with the city recreation department, he said.

The renovations include several updates, including repairs to meet the Americans with Disabilities requirements, Machmer noted.

Among these is a wheel chair lift installed, bathrooms, dressing rooms and electrical and plumbing systems – all of which have been designed with the needs of the accessibility community kept in mind.

The bandshell also suffered from poor indoor air quality, without proper ventilation, leading to humidity and the growth of mold and mildew, Machmer said.

The redesign included open air sliding windows, which also provide for privacy for those dressing below the stage and fans installed to move air.

“We have about $300,000 in it,” said Bill Scott, city engineer.

It is among the projects that Mayor Derek Slaughter, along with City Council, wanted to see accomplished.

During the tour, Lundy work crews were at the site, including a skilled mason who was doing the laborious work of adding mortar to the stone and repointing the brick facade and towers on either side of the bandshell.

The curved wood has shown its age, and some of the pieces will be replaced, said Scott, who was astounded by the designers and their abilities in the early 20th century.

“Pretty neat for builders in 1913,” he said, looking over the front and behind the stage.

Once kind of dark and dingy, the bandshell, when done, will have an improved paint job and better lighting for the users.

Over the years, parks crews and recreation officials tended to the care of the facility.

In archival photographs, they can be seen painting the stage in May 1955 and in the 1960s adding the interior walls of the dressing room.

The bandshell has hosted community sings and concerts in the park, with world renowned musicians on its stage. It has been a central gathering space for celebrations, and where the Festival of Lights is held to welcome the holidays and provided backdrop to events such as the spring rite where children search for Easter eggs.

It is an overused phrase but the revitalization project truly is emotional and a labor of love for those involved.

The team is completing what Lundy Construction senior foreman Doug Barto, who is at home fighting an illness, wanted to see accomplished at the grand opening ceremony.

The bandshell was named in tribute to a close park neighbor, Kenneth Cooper, a medical doctor and an arborist whose sole desire was to see trees planted across the city landscape.