The East Park Band Shell is a historic structure located in Mason City, Iowa , United States. The band shell was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. In 2014 it was included as a contributing property in the East Park Historic District .
8-508: The city acquired the first 40 acres (16 ha) for East Park in 1909. F.E. Pease designed the park with its two entrances off of State Street, the curving drives, a small pond, tennis courts, and a music pavilion. The park has subsequently grown to include 57 acres (23 ha), and the city has added other amenities. In 1920 the Mason City Chamber of Commerce organized a municipal band made up of professional musicians from around
16-514: The country to give a series of summer concerts. James M. Fulton from Boston was the conductor, and Mason City native Meredith Willson played the flute and piccolo. The band utilized a portable bandstand for their concerts until this one was dedicated on July 24, 1924. It was designed by a local draftsman named Lester Lewis. Its dedication in 1924 makes this structure, along with the W.D. Petersen Memorial Music Pavilion in Davenport (1924),
24-531: The two oldest band shells in Iowa . It was also among the first structures built in East Park. Concerts and other civic activities have been held here ever since. During the period of time that Carleton Stewart was the conductor (1937-1963) several changes were made to the band shell. An addition was built onto the rear, the front of the stage was extended to create an apron , the vertical board and batten siding
32-446: Was a composer, arranger, conductor, and music educator best known for composing marches . He is often associated with the traditional British melody Garry Owen which he arranged for band in 1903. His most recognized march is Associated Press , published in 1897. His more than 245 compositions include more than 144 marches (more than Sousa ) as well as many waltzes, polkas, overtures, schottisches , reveries, and cakewalks. Fulton
40-608: Was added to the facade, and a stone veneer was applied to the front of the apron. It is not known the exact year that these additions were made. Wilson was no longer in the municipal band when the band shell was dedicated. He is known to have been in it twice. The first time was on August 22, 1939, when he conducted the Municipal Band, during which they played his composition for the United States Army Air Corps , Wings on High . The second occasion
48-916: Was born in Washington , Pennsylvania and studied violin, cornet, euphonium, and tuba as a youth. He played cornet for orchestras and bands, eventually becoming the conductor of the Waite Dramatic Company Band and music director for the Hotel Rudolf in Atlantic City , New Jersey . Starting in 1899, Fulton led the American Band from Waterbury , Connecticut and changed its name to "Fulton's American Band." He would later organize his own music publishing company and serve as music director for Fenway Theatre in Boston . His
56-702: Was conductor for the Waltham Watch Company Band for 13 years. He died of a heart attack in Belmont , Massachusetts in 1940 while preparing the Belmont VFW Band for another state championship. Family: Fulton was married to M Margaret Sprow on August 9, 1893, and had a daughter named Alga N Fulton (b.April 22, 1893). They divorced on March 6, 1903. He married Edith Hoxie on May 2, 1904. He married Catherine S. Fulton (?) (d.1971) and they are both buried in an unmarked grave at
64-912: Was in June 1962 when U.S. Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon presented him with the President's Gold Medallion for his promotion of the Bonds for Freedom. This article about a property in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a building or structure in Iowa is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . James M. Fulton James Melville Fulton (1873–1940)
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