![]() An aerial view of children playing before a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the reopening of the Recreation Park Playground on June 14, 2022.There’s enough room for 600 people on the benches (even more on the grass), a raised stage framed by a 1920’s Spanish Baroque Revival style arch covered in colorful mosaic tiles and perhaps most importantly, one of the city’s largest and newest playgrounds is within shouting distance. “It was a good fit for us to give something back to the community and seeing this stage, it’s just not used and it’s an amazing facility … We’re trying to give it a sense of ownership.” -Steve Pruitt, co-founder of Friends of Recreation Park Bandshell Since retiring from the same sound engineering company, the friends have devoted their time to giving it a sense of pride. The two said they’ve driven past the bandshell for years, often wondering why such a perfect location for live music and performances goes unused. While the stage and benches are often used by skaters and people who need a place to rest, the duo hopes to transform the underused and underappreciated bandshell into a mecca for local talent, live music, theater and education. Hellsund and Pruitt started their nonprofit organization, Friends of Recreation Park Bandshell (FORPBS), in 2022 to revitalize the stage and accompanying building. Grant | Signal Tribune)Ī skateboarder jumps down the stairs of the Recreation Park Band Shell on June 12, 2023. Foliage grows out of the some of moluding on the facade of the Recreation Park Band Shell. It won’t be easy, given the plants growing out of its crevices, cracked paint, broken windows and faded tiles. Steve Pruitt and Hans Hellsund, both Long Beach residents, are breathing life back into the bandshell and hoping to “return it to its glory days,” Pruitt said. Two friends and local music supporters want to change that. Then it was a place for temporary classrooms after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, and in the 1940s, Richard Nixon gave a speech early in his political career in front of the stark, curved arch and intricate tiled borders.īut now most days the elaborate central arch, ornately decorated pillars and maroon-colored stage sit empty, as do the rows and rows of aqua-green benches facing it. It started as a stage for bands and actors to perform. The bandshell at Recreation Park has gone through many iterations in its nearly 100-year history, being declared a historical landmark in 1991.
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