Joseph Ricapito Memorial Band Shell - Bethlehem, PA, USA - Bandshells on Waymarking.com

The band shell is the home of the Bethlehem Municipal Band, founded in 1935. The Bethlehem Municipal Band was founded by Harry B.J. Hertwig and eight fellow musicians. Mr. Hertwig invited the musicians to come to a meeting to discuss the creation of a band that would be a creative outlet for young musicians. The young musicians that Mr. Hertwig was looking to enlist were recent graduates from Liberty High School who due to graduation were no longer playing with the high school band. This first contact did not produce any results. Undaunted, Mr. Hertwig and a few friends contacted civic groups and organizations trying to acquaint them with his idea. Mr Hertwig's perseverance paid off. On May 2, 1935, a group of ten interested musicians met at the home of Joseph Ricapito. Permission to use a room at the yard office of the Brown-Borhek Company was secured and the band's first rehearsal was held there on September 12, 1935. Twenty-four musicians attended this first rehearsal.

Over the band's 75 year history they have had 4 directors. Joseph Ricapito, one of the band's founding members, was director for 30 years from 1935 until 1965 when he resigned. Mr. Ricapito passed away in November 1979.

The Sertoma Club constructed and donated the band shell to the City of Bethlehem in 1982 and memorialized Joeseph Ricapito by naming the band shell after him.

Check here if the structure has a roof (required for posting): yes Check here if the structure is enclosed or mostly enclosed on three sides (required for posting): yes Bandshell Webpage: Not listed

Visit Instructions:

When visiting a waymark, please take pictures that clearly show the bandshell. If you have pictures with yourself in the bandshell, that would be great too. Also, tell us a little about your visit. It's optional, but if you attended a performance here, tell us about it.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.