The Bandstand: Social Center of the Post - Vancouver, Washington - Washington Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Text of marker:

The Bandstand: Social Center of the Post

Social events, such as parades, dances, and concerts, helped establish and maintain positive public relations between the nineteenth century U.S. Army and neighboring communities.  At Vancouver Barracks, military bands often served as social ambassadors, providing free public concerts in local cities and at the post.  During the summer months, many of the post's concerts and social events centered around the bandstand.

Through historical and archaeological evidence, we know of the presence of three bandstands at the post.  The first appears on maps from 1870.  It was constructed on the parade ground south of the Grant House, slightly to the east of the current bandstand.  By the mid-1880s it had been replaced by a fountain, and the second bandstand had been constructed on the extreme west end of the parade ground.  It, in turn, was supplanted by a third bandstand built around 1906 on the east end of the parade ground, which stood until 1943.

The current bandstand is a reconstruction built in the 1980s, meant to duplicate the post's first bandstand.  Like its predecessors, it serves as the social center of the site, hosting speeches, ceremonies, weddings, commemorations, and - continuing the rich legacy of the site - military concerts.

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