Elmhurst Battle Not Over: Park Officials Must Face City On Bandshell Plan

ELMHURST, IL – The Elmhurst park board, which faced resistance over its plan to build a bandshell next to Wilder Mansion, faces another big hurdle – the City Council.

In January, the park board voted 4-3 to build the bandshell on the mansion's east lawn at Wilder Park.

That was after the park district's own survey showed residents overwhelmingly opposed that site. Many wanted another location in the park.

Many residents said they opposed the mansion site because it would interrupt the sightlines to the mansion, which is perhaps Elmhurst's most iconic building.

The Elmhurst Park District Board is proposing to build a bandshell in the east lawn of Wilder Mansion. Many say that would destroy the sightlines to perhaps' Elmhurst's most iconic building. (David Giuliani/Patch)

They also expressed concern over sound, traffic and parking.

The matter is expected to go before the Zoning and Planning Commission, then the City Council.

Among the opponents is the Rev. Thomas Paul of Immaculate Conception Church, which is next to the park.

In a May 27 letter to Mayor Scott Levin, Paul urged that impact studies be done on such issues as sound, traffic and parking.

Referring to sound, he said, "I am concerned about the effects this will have on the various ceremonies that will take place without our schools and church. It would be very disheartening for one of our masses to be interrupted."

He wondered what would happen the rest of the year when there are no concerts in the bandshell.

"Will it become a haven for possible problematic issues?" Paul asked.

In a recent email to Patch, Jim Rogers, the park district's executive director, said officials don't expect more traffic associated with the bandshell.

The bandshell's programming, he said, would be similar to the past, when the district held performances in a trailer in the same area.

"Regarding sound, the bandshell is intended to host the same types of performances as we have in the past," Rogers said. "The purpose of the structure is to provide a permanent venue for these events and activities, not to introduce a fundamentally different level of programming or amplified sound than residents have experienced and enjoyed over the decades."

Voters approved a bandshell as part of a $90 million referendum in 2024, with most of the money going toward a new Wagner Community Center.

In 2023, the district conducted a statistically valid, random-sample survey, asking residents to choose among 34 park amenity options. A bandshell ranked as the second-highest unmet need, Rogers said.

The proposed bandshell has been sized to accommodate the types of performances historically offered, he said.

"The new permanent structure will provide a better and more functional venue for these community performances," Rogers said.

For more than 80 years, he said, residents have gathered in the park for events such as Music Under the Stars concerts, Art in Wilder Park and Movies in the Park.

Residents Andrea Hutchinson and Jim Schuetz, both opponents of the proposed site, noted that the bandshell would have the capacity for 72 musicians on stage, far more than the old trailer, known as a "bandwagon."

"Structures are not built to that scale for moderately sized events. A venue designed for 72 performers will attract programming to match," they said. "Larger performances draw larger audiences, generating greater noise, traffic, and parking demand than the neighborhood has ever experienced from this site."

Hutchinson and Schuetz also objected to the view.

"Placing the bandshell on the lawn east of the Mansion would permanently replace that view with the back of a large performance structure," the duo said. "This is not a minor aesthetic trade-off – it is the destruction of Elmhurst's most iconic vista, in direct conflict with the Plan's stated Urban Design and Community Character goals."

They are also pushing impact studies.

Meanwhile, they are launching a "Save Wilder Park" yard sign campaign.