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Throwback Thursday: Lebanon Concert Band Park
By: Eric D. Tudor
Did you know that more than a century ago, the heart of downtown Lebanon was home to a lively community gathering space with music at its center?
Back in 1910, The Bank of Lebanon funded the creation of a beautiful public park and bandstand right in the 100 block of East Commercial Street—where you’ll now find familiar businesses like Falcon Floor Covering, Shelter Insurance, The Lunchbox Café, Rebel Ink, The Galleria, and Cali & Company (home of the Lebanon newspaper office). This early vision feels a lot like what’s currently under construction on North Madison Avenue: a new space with a covered stage, public seating, and restrooms designed to bring people together.
The Lebanon Concert Band Park was a hit for decades, hosting free summer concerts and acting as the go-to spot for street fairs and community celebrations. The original bandstand could even rotate to face the railroad tracks for events involving the Frisco Railway! Later, it was repositioned to face Jefferson Street, right across from the then-new Lingsweiler Newspaper Building, built in 1912.
To help keep things running smoothly, a small city tax supported the park’s maintenance—$730 in 1928, to be exact.
Some of Lebanon’s most prominent families had musicians in the community band, including the Demuth, Donnelly, England, Hatten, Manchester, Mills, Nelson, Palmer, Vernon, Wallick, and Young families, just to name a few.
From weekly concerts to street fairs, the Lebanon Concert Band Park was once the soundtrack of downtown life.
