The Water Bandstand in Alton has stood an iconic sentry in the town’s narrow bay on Lake Winnipesaukee for nearly a century. It is marked by a roadside marker pointing to and signifying the bandstand which is over 95 years old.
Only accessible from the water, the bandstand is a quintessentially New England gazebo-like structure. When the bay freezes over in the winter the bandstand can be accessed by foot. It is one of few surviving on-the-water structures of its kind in the U.S.
In the 1920s, speedboat racing was popular in the protected often flat waters of the bay and a half dozen residents formed an association there. They decided to build a bandstand at the heart of the bay that would house both musical performances and a judges’ stand for races.
Atop the ice in the early months of 1928, they built a cribbing that, when the ice melted, settled onto a large shallow ledge underwater. In the spring, they filled the crib with rocks, built a foundation, and constructed the bandstand atop it.
The Water Bandstand Committee chaired by Nancy Merrill whose father Lester and Edward Downing built the original bandstand raised funds and renovated the bandstand in 2018/2019. This work included a new roof, replaced decking and siding, new electrical wiring, lighting, and a new flagpole.
Though today the water bandstand is largely ornamental as its cousin ashore is the usual venue for band concerts and the like, It remains an icon of its quaint corner of the big lake.
Excerpted from Laconia Daily Sun – September 2023
