Washington Park Bandshell Restoration & Renovation

To: Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors

Help Milwaukee County Residents Restore and Renovate Washington Parks Band Shell, the Blatz Temple of Music and Washington Park.

Washington Park for decades served the community as a destination for family outings that ranged from visits to the zoo and ice skating to family reunions and concerts at the parks band shell, the 1938 Art Deco Blatz Temple of Music. Attendance in the park has slowly declined since Highway 41 carved away a section of the park, since the zoo was relocated to another park, and since the band shells mechanical systems and facilities became outdated, compromised, or nonfunctioning resulting in the cessation of music performances at the band shell. Fortunately, the band shell is structurally sound, but it does need paint, improved toilets and dressing rooms, seating, the restoration of speakers, and improved accessibility.

We the undersigned petition our representatives on the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors to allocate funds, beginning with the 2005 County Budget, to be directed to the renovation and restoration of the Blatz Temple of Music so that this venue once more is safe, accessible, and possesses mechanical systems and facilities that suit modern electrical and other standards.

We, the people of Milwaukee County, want our park back and we believe that restoring music and theater to the band shell will serve as the foundation for renewing Washington Park. We want some of our county tax dollars to be directed to this project.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned