> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.raincrossgazette.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Riverside's 'Too Loud' Bandstand and the Park That Outgrew It
- URL: https://www.raincrossgazette.com/riversides-too-loud-bandstand-and-the-park-that-outgrew-it/
- Published: 2026-11-15T13:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-15T12:59:59.000Z
- Description: Riverside's first park opened in 1883 with an octagonal bandstand, which was hauled away 25 years later.
- Author: Glenn Wenzel
- Tags: Culture, History, #herald-3abef165-d2ee-81d6-9bf8-c1128bf0a4b0

Riverside's first park was established in 1883 and was named simply "City Park." Built on what had been swampland, the property was graded and filled in by Dr. Clark Whittier. In exchange, Whittier received property on the park's outer edges, on which he built a sanitarium on the corner of Market and Eighth, which later became Park Hotel and later the Plaza Hotel. Today, the location is home to Riverside City College Culinary Academy and the Henry Coil Sr. and Alice Edna Coil School for the Arts. City Park is bounded by Market, Whittier, Chestnut and Hidalgo streets. The Lower Canal ran diagonally through the park, with footbridges spanning the canal.

![Vintage hand-tinted postcard of a narrow irrigation canal lined with flowering shrubs and palms in a park](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/b2/b3b29e3b-298e-485f-86ca-3034c21e3784/content/images/2026/11/a-postcard-of-the-lower-canal-running-through-city-park.jpg)

A postcard of the Lower Canal running through City Park. | Author's Collection

In 1899, the city renamed the park the Albert S. White Park. White was an early park commissioner who did much to help develop the park. White, along with Franz Hosp, was responsible for most of the park's original plants and cacti. He was a close friend of Frank A. Miller of the Mission Inn and the first paying guest at the old Glenwood Cottage.

![A vintage postcard of a park with tall trees, women in long dresses walking a path, and mountains beyond](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/b2/b3b29e3b-298e-485f-86ca-3034c21e3784/content/images/2026/11/a-postcard-calling-the-park-white-park.jpg)

A postcard calling the park White Park. | Author's Collection

After the contract was awarded in early 1883 to grade and develop the park, plans were also made to erect an octagonal bandstand with a 25-foot diameter. Mr. Stevens drew up the plans, and in early March, Mr. Portor and Mr. Davis were awarded the contract to construct the structure for $500\. By March 17, the *Press and Horticulturist* reported that the "architecturally beautiful" bandstand would be completed by June 1 for $600, a slight cost increase. The June 1 date was not met; on June 30, the newspaper wrote that the bandstand was nearly complete. A week later, the paper said some citizens criticized the new bandstand's color as "too loud." The new bandstand featured white, brown, blue and bright red paint. The bandstand was basically two stories high, with storage beneath the upper level where the band performed. At the same time, four rustic footbridges were built to cross the canal.

![Old city map showing streets, a park, buildings, an irrigation ditch, and a compass rose](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/b2/b3b29e3b-298e-485f-86ca-3034c21e3784/content/images/2026/11/a-june-1888-sanborn-insurance-map-from-the-library-of.jpg)

A June 1888 Sanborn insurance map from the Library of Congress. The bandstand is the octagonal feature below the blue canal. | Public Domain

![Vintage postcard of a park with a gazebo, winding dirt path, trees, and flowering shrubs.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/b2/b3b29e3b-298e-485f-86ca-3034c21e3784/content/images/2026/11/an-early-postcard-of-the-bandstand-in-city-park.jpg)

An early postcard of the bandstand in City Park. | Author's Collection

![A park gazebo with a weather vane beside a flower garden and small wooden footbridge over a canal](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/b2/b3b29e3b-298e-485f-86ca-3034c21e3784/content/images/2026/11/the-bandstand-and-the-lower-canal-with-a-footbridge.jpg)

The bandstand and the Lower Canal with a footbridge. | Courtesy of the Museum of Riverside

![An old postcard illustration of a park seen from a wooden porch, with trees, gardens, and mountains beyond a large house](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/b2/b3b29e3b-298e-485f-86ca-3034c21e3784/content/images/2026/11/a-postcard-view-from-the-bandstand-looking-out-at-white.jpg)

A postcard view from the bandstand looking out at White Park. | Author's Collection

Over the years, the Riverside Band and later the Riverside Military Band performed concerts at the bandstand in White Park. By 1905, the band was under the directorship of Gustav Hilverkus, longtime Riverside High School band director and cornetist for many years at the annual Mount Rubidoux Sunrise Easter Services.

![Old sepia photo of a uniformed brass band with helmets posed before a wooden bandstand](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/b2/b3b29e3b-298e-485f-86ca-3034c21e3784/content/images/2026/11/an-early-photo-of-the-riverside-band-by-the-bandstand.jpg)

An early photo of the Riverside Band by the bandstand. | Courtesy of the Museum of Riverside

![Archival photo of a uniformed brass band posed with instruments beside a wooden bandstand](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/b2/b3b29e3b-298e-485f-86ca-3034c21e3784/content/images/2026/11/the-riverside-band-at-the-bandstand-in-a-photo-dated-april.jpg)

The Riverside Band at the bandstand in a photo dated April 26, 1893\. | Courtesy of the Museum of Riverside

By 1908, the old bandstand in White Park was in poor shape and labeled an eyesore. Albert White, for whom the park was renamed, urged its removal, insisting it detracted from the park's beauty and was used as "a gathering place for undesirable characters in the evenings." The park commission advertised for bids to remove the bandstand, stipulating that it be removed within 10 days. With no bids received, the commission authorized Frank Richmond in May 1908 to take down the bandstand and move the structure to Fairmount Park. There, the band concerts could be held in the old bandstand until a new one could be built at Fairmount Park.

![A uniformed band with brass instruments and a large bass drum poses outdoors near a bandstand](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/b2/b3b29e3b-298e-485f-86ca-3034c21e3784/content/images/2026/11/the-rebuilt-bandstand-probably-after-its-move-to-fairmount.jpg)

The rebuilt bandstand, probably after its move to Fairmount Park in 1908\. Gustav Hilverkus, holding a cornet behind the bass drum, became director of the Riverside Military Band in 1905\. | Courtesy of the Museum of Riverside

At the bandstand's location near the front of the park, a new fountain was erected. George Reynolds, a public-minded citizen and one of the city's largest merchants owning both Reynolds Department Store and Reynolds Hotel, donated the funds for the new fountain. The fountain and its history are another story.

White Park, located in downtown Riverside, fell into disrepair over the years and earned a very poor reputation. In 1997, the city closed the park for an 18-month renovation project. The renovations took four and a half years, and the park reopened in November 2001 with a wrought-iron fence surrounding the park. One of White Park's new features is a handsome white bandstand in the very center of the park. It is not as "architecturally beautiful" as the 1883 bandshell, but the new gazebo does restore the possibility of concerts in the city's original park.

![A white wooden gazebo surrounded by trees and yellow flowering shrubs in a park](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/b2/b3b29e3b-298e-485f-86ca-3034c21e3784/content/images/2026/11/the-white-park-bandstand-today.jpg)

The White Park bandstand today. | Courtesy of the City of Riverside

![An aerial illustrated map of a park with winding paths, a fountain, bandstand, and surrounding trees between city streets.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/b2/b3b29e3b-298e-485f-86ca-3034c21e3784/content/images/2026/11/a-map-of-white-park-today.jpg)

A map of White Park today. | Courtesy of Riverside Parks