By Stephen Cheslik
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
Claremont’s bandstand in Broad Street Park will be ready for its beauty shot on the Fourth of July.
Park and Recreation Director Nick Lawrence said Wednesday that the deteriorating condition of the gazebo was one of the first things he noticed downtown when he moved here in September.
“I had talked to [City Manager] Yoshi [Manale] about seeing what we could do because we both recognized it was a landmark in Claremont that we could restore and make better.”
Manale freed up funds for the renovation. However, when they put the project out to bid, they got a surprise. Local company WAL Masonry stepped forward to do the work. However, it isn’t doing the project for profit or publicity, according to company Secretary and Treasurer Beth LaCaillade, wife of WAL Masonry owner Scott LaCaillade.
“We try to do some community stuff. It’s our city. Our kids grew up here,” Beth LaCaillade told the Eagle Times. “It really needed to look nicer, just wanted to be able to help them out.”
“As part of the $15,000 renovation, WAL Masonry removed damaged concrete that was breaking down, cleaned and prepped the bandstand before resurfacing it in limestone,” Lawrence said. The company is doing “everything related to the gazebo that you can see and some things under it,” according to Lawrence.
Lawrence said the bandstand isn’t the only project planned for ¾-acre downtown park. The city hopes to plant new trees, add benches and build a patio around the World War II monument.
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