Spreckels Temple of Music, also called the

bandshell In theatre, a shell (also known as an acoustical shell, choral shell or bandshell) is a curved, hard surface designed to reflect sound towards an audience. Often shells are designed to be removable, either rolling away on wheels or lifting into ...

, constructed in 1900, is in the

Music Concourse The Music Concourse is an open-air plaza within Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Flanking the oval-shaped concourse are the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum and the California Academy of Sciences. History Originally excavated for the California ...

Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park is an urban park between the Richmond District, San Francisco, Richmond and Sunset District, San Francisco, Sunset districts on the West Side (San Francisco), West Side of San Francisco, California, United States. It is the Lis ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. It was a gift to the city from sugar magnate

Claus Spreckels Claus Spreckels (July 9, 1828 – December 26, 1908) was a German-born American industrialist in California and Hawaii, during the Kingdom of Hawaii, kingdom and Republic of Hawaii, republican periods of the islands' history. He founded or was i ...

and is one of the largest bandshells in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

History

The Spreckels Temple of Music was the third bandstand in the park. The first was built in 1882, and a larger one was built 1888. In 1895, discussions began about building a larger bandshell to accommodate the "Sunday and holiday crowds."

Adolph B. Spreckels Adolph Bernard Spreckels (January 5, 1857 – June 28, 1924) was a California businessman who ran the Spreckels Sugar Company and who donated the California Palace of the Legion of Honor art museum to the city of San Francisco in 1924. His wife, ...

, president of the San Francisco Park Commission, convinced his father, sugar magnate

, founder of the

Spreckels Sugar Company The Spreckels Sugar Company is an American sugar beet refiner that for many years was the largest beet sugar producer in the western United States. The company was incorporated and originally headquartered in San Francisco, with its largest operati ...

, to pay for it. Spreckels spent $75,000 towards the $78,810 cost of the building. The new bandstand was dedicated as a gift to the people of California on Admission Day, September 9, 1900, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the state's admission to the Union. 75,000 people attended celebration in the

. Spreckels and General W. H. L. Barnes stepped into the music stand to address the people. Spreckels gave a speech about his gratitude for the benefits he received as an immigrant and that he had chosen to build a bandstand because music was uplifting and should be '"rendered free to all." Construction began in 1899, before the completion of the

in 1900. It was designed by architects

Reid & Reid Reid & Reid, also known as Reid Brothers, was an American architectural and engineering firm that was active from 1880 to 1932. Established in Indiana by Canadians, Canadian immigrants, the firm moved to the West Coast of the United States, West ...

. The building shell is an

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

style with an acoustically reflective

coffer A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, al ...

ed shell standing 70 feet high and covered in Colusa sandstone. The two relief sculptures are by sculptor

Robert Ingersoll Aitken Robert Ingersoll Aitken (May 8, 1878 – January 3, 1949) was an American sculpture, sculptor. Perhaps his most famous work is the West Pediment of the United States Supreme Court Building. Life and career Born to Charles H. Aitken and Katherin ...

. The one on the left holds a

lyre The lyre () (from Greek λύρα and Latin ''lyra)'' is a string instrument, stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the History of lute-family instruments, lute family of instruments. In organology, a ...

and the one on the right a trumpet. The platform is 45 feet wide and 80 feet high and can accommodate 100 musicians. It is one of the largest bandshells in the

. The pavilion was severely damaged in the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 AM Pacific Time Zone, Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli inte ...

. Much of its Colusa sandstone,

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

balustrades A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...

, and corners collapsed. Architect Reid estimated the damage and cost of restoring it at $15,000. After the

Loma Prieta earthquake On October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. PST, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred at the Central Coast of California. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, approximately 10 mi (16 km) ...

FEMA The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

and the Office of Emergency Services spent $3.1 million on seismic upgrades. In December 2021, the San Francisco Arts nonprofit, Illuminate the Arts installed a temporary light exhibit "Lift Every Voice" on top of the Temple of Music. The 4-foot high bronze-coated letters were installed and illuminated atop the 120-year-old Temple (also known as the Golden Gate Bandshell). The light installation was approved by the San Francisco Arts Commission to be in place for two years. The exhibit receives its inspiration from the song "Lift Every Voice and Sing," known as the Black National Anthem written by civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson. In 2023, the San Francisco Arts Commission gave permission to extend the exhibit 5 more years.

Today

The bandshell often draws 10,000 to 20,000 listeners. The pavilion has been the place for annual celebrations of the anniversary of the

Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791 The Constitution of 3 May 1791, titled the Government Act, was a written constitution for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that was adopted by the Great Sejm that met between 1788 and 1792. The Commonwealth was a dual monarchy comprising th ...

Gallery

File:California-06241 - In front of museum (20449897948).jpg, In front of the

De Young Museum The de Young Museum, formally the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, is a fine arts museum located in San Francisco, California, named for early San Francisco newspaperman M. H. de Young. Located on the West Side (San Francisco), West Side of the ci ...

File:Golden Gate Park - Spreckels Temple of Music 02.jpg, Golden Gate Park - Spreckels Temple of Music File:Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park (TK2).JPG, Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park File:Spreckels Temple of Music 1 2019-02-25.jpg, Spreckels Temple of Music

References

External links

Spreckels Temple of Music
{{Authority control 1900 establishments in California Amphitheaters in California Music venues in San Francisco Golden Gate Park Reid & Reid buildings

History

Today

Gallery

See also

References

External links