Few things suggest the tranquility of summer more than dulcet strains of music heard under a starry sky with soft river breezes adding to the atmosphere. For decades this idyllic scene played out on Belle Isle as the Detroit Concert Band (DCB), under the direction of Leonard B. Smith, performed at the Jerome H. Remick Bandshell to throngs of music lovers. (Here, Smith leads the band before appreciative fans in 1953.)听
The shell was erected in 1950 and named for Remick (1867-1931), a wildly successful Detroit music publisher. Remick鈥檚 company published such sentimental early 20th-century hits as 鈥淏aby Face鈥 and 鈥淥h, You Beautiful Doll.鈥 In addition to the DCB鈥檚 performances, the Remick Bandshell hosted performances by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles. The DCB last performed on Belle Isle in 1980, and thereafter the bandshell faced years of neglect and decay.听
Enter the nonprofit group Music on Belle Isle Group (MOBIG), founded in 2017. Although MOBIG President Craig Strain says the bandshell is 鈥渋n very bad shape structurally and cosmetically,鈥 he鈥檚 determined to bring it back to life. 鈥淚 knew of the historic significance of the Remick shell, had visited the site many times, and had for years wished it could be restored,鈥 says Strain, who also leads the Motor City Brass Band. It鈥檚 his dream that his band, along with other ensembles, might one day perform under the shell.听
MOBIG raised $20,000 for an architectural/structural assessment of the bandshell in October 2020. Strain says the findings determined a complete overhaul, including structural stabilizing, would come close to $1.5 million. But he鈥檚 undeterred. After all, it鈥檚 a fact that Detroiters guard their musical heritage. Consider the renovation of Orchestra Hall, the transformation of the Grand Circus Theatre into the Detroit Opera House, or the creation (and expansion) of the Motown Museum. And let鈥檚 not forget the State Fair Bandshell, which was to be razed as part of Amazon鈥檚 plan to build a distribution center on the site. But it was saved. At press time, the shell was to be disassembled and moved to nearby Palmer Park.听
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