Photo by Todd McInturf, The Detroit News
Thanks to the amazing work and support of District 2 Councilman Roy McCalister Jr. and the City of Detroit, the historic State Fairgrounds bandshell will be relocated a half mile south to Palmer Park.
“By preserving the bandshell it saves a piece of Detroit history,” said Rochelle Lento, president of People For Palmer Park. “This is a great opportunity to continue the redevelopment and activation of Palmer Park that the City and People for Palmer Park have collaborated on for the past ten years, and to resurrect a positive attribute for the surrounding communities in an exciting way.”
As the new Amazon fulfillment center and indoor transit center for the Detroit Department of Transportation started to take shape at the longtime site of the Michigan State Fairgrounds, plans to demolish the 83-year old bandshell were not well received by the public and after some media attention, and discussions with Amazon, the City and People for Palmer Park, plans were made to disassemble and move the bandshell to its new home in Palmer. Proposed location is in the old back nine of the former public golf course no longer in use, just north of our community garden.
This move will not be done without community input and the City of Detroit and its Department of Neighborhoods will be engaging residents and community organizations like People for Palmer Park closely on this project as funds are raised and design and location are worked out. We will keep you updated as plans progress.
In 2014, we unveiled our Master Plan Proposal for Palmer Park, and having a bandshell was one part of the vision. Being able to repurpose the existing one is an incredible turn of events for our organization and the potential to see families gathering for cultural events here is exciting.
For more on the bandshell move:
https://detroitmi.gov/news/councilmember-mccalister-mayor-duggan-preserve-historic-state-fairgrounds
“By preserving the bandshell it saves a piece of Detroit history,” said Rochelle Lento, president of People For Palmer Park. “This is a great opportunity to continue the redevelopment and activation of Palmer Park that the City and People for Palmer Park have collaborated on for the past ten years, and to resurrect a positive attribute for the surrounding communities in an exciting way.”
As the new Amazon fulfillment center and indoor transit center for the Detroit Department of Transportation started to take shape at the longtime site of the Michigan State Fairgrounds, plans to demolish the 83-year old bandshell were not well received by the public and after some media attention, and discussions with Amazon, the City and People for Palmer Park, plans were made to disassemble and move the bandshell to its new home in Palmer. Proposed location is in the old back nine of the former public golf course no longer in use, just north of our community garden.
This move will not be done without community input and the City of Detroit and its Department of Neighborhoods will be engaging residents and community organizations like People for Palmer Park closely on this project as funds are raised and design and location are worked out. We will keep you updated as plans progress.
In 2014, we unveiled our Master Plan Proposal for Palmer Park, and having a bandshell was one part of the vision. Being able to repurpose the existing one is an incredible turn of events for our organization and the potential to see families gathering for cultural events here is exciting.
For more on the bandshell move:
https://detroitmi.gov/news/councilmember-mccalister-mayor-duggan-preserve-historic-state-fairgrounds