City Park Jazz
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The legendary City Park bandstand is on tight pace to be completed by summer 2027.
The Denver Landmark Preservation Commission approved an application from Denver-based architecture firm Mundus Bishop to rebuild the bandstand at Denver’s biggest park, 8-1, with the caveats on three specific features: a one-year timeline of construction at a noticeable location, a higher roof on the bandstand and the use of roofing material similar to that of the past rendition.
The original bandstand was a historic point of pride for locals, but it caught on fire on March 26, ultimately leading to a complete loss months before the 40th anniversary of City Park Jazz. According to the Denver Fire Department, tests of burn-site samples did not detect any traces of accelerants, and the investigation was deemed inconclusive.
Amy Amidon, landmark design review supervisor for the city, told the commission that the proposed structure will be “very similar to the existing structure.”
“In fact, we think that the public will find it quite familiar. The footprint is the same,” she said, adding that the new build will be more ADA-accessible, flame-retardant and have better acoustics than the past.
The major point of contention was the new roof. The proposed plan had the roof at a 4/12 pitch, as opposed to the more angular 6/12 pitch in the former bandstand. In the hour-and-a-half meeting, multiple members of the committee and members of the public spoke against the change, with some calling the roof “noticeably flatter” and pointing out its importance to the structure’s appearance.
The committee also requested that the red metal barrel roof tile remain the same, as they match the nearby pavilion. The initial plan had the new roof matching the bandstand’s 1924 rendition, not the 1994 build that everyone knows.
The current landmark preservation ordinance says that any sort of rebuild of the bandstand should resemble the characteristics of the building before, but semantic arguments fell on the definition of “should” versus “must” or “will.”
But the ordinance does have the roof slope listed as part of the characteristics, so the committee decided that it must remain the same as the former rendition.
The bandstand shell was initially built in 1929 and appeared as a permanent fixture of the Denver jazz scene for almost 100 years and multiple rebuilds. There have been five rebuilds of the bandstand, according to city records, with the most recent restructure completed in 1994.
After the fire destroyed the bandstand in March, a replacement immediately went into the works. Mayor Mike Johnston promised a rebuild by City Park Jazz’s 2027 iteration next June, and 9News anchor Kyle Clark issued a call for donations through his Word of Thanks Fund in April, collecting over $3,000.
Denver Parks & Recreation is looking for $250,000 to cover the insurance deductible and complete the new build by next summer. The department announced its plans to move forward with the rebuild back in June, with the Landmark Preservation Committee’s approval a required step because of the park’s historical significance. Now it will go before Denver City Council.
Despite its sad state, the current structure still stands. It has become a habitat for swallows, according to Amidon, and the builders don’t expect to be able to tear it down until the birds leave around September. Once the demolition starts, the team will look to see if the underground support beams and the wooden skirt around the bottom can be salvaged.
Former architect and resident Mark Upshaw pointed out the significance of the wooden skirt, calling it “unique” and “probably irreplaceable.” He noted that it is made of clear-heart, vertical-grain redwood, which may be nearly impossible to get today. The skirt was custom-made by a local carpenter teacher who took a year to volunteer for the project while still maintaining her full-time job.
“It adds to the rich history and the character of the place. (People) like being around something that connects them to Denver and its story,” Upshaw said before providing an example:
“A colleague of mine once told me over drinks after work that he asked his wife to marry him at the bandstand. We will never forget.”
