ROBBINSDALE’S HISTORIC CITY BAND PLAYS AT HISTORIC GRAESER PARK
Robbinsdale’s City Band is one of the longest running municipal bands in the Upper Midwest. Next year it will be 120 years old.
It all began with a concert in 1906 that raised money for instruments and uniforms. With community support, local leaders George O. Grenell and George E. Swift, along with their families, formed the Robbinsdale Civic Club Band.
Now known as the Robbinsdale City Band, its members have played at community events in places far and wide. In the Twin Cities, the band plays annually at the Lake Harriet Bandshell and the Como Park Pavilion.
The musicians especially enjoy performing at Historic Graeser Park, 4200 Lakeland Ave. N., Robbinsdale. This year’s “Third Annual Band Concert at Graeser Park” will take place on Thursday, July 17, at 7:00pm.
Graeser Park, built by the WPA in 1940-41, is not quite as old as the City Band, but hundreds of people have happy memories of gathering there for family picnics, reunions, scout meetings, school field trips, and more.
The park fell into disrepair over the years, until MnDOT’s Historic Roadside Properties and Waysides Program began a preservation project in 2021. Skilled masons rebuilt the picnic tables from salvaged stone and the iconic beehive-shaped fireplace. Our beehive is the only one in the entire US still in its original spot. The park is now eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
It’s a prime location for an old-time band concert. bring a blanket or lawn chair or sit at one of the historic picnic tables. Arrive on foot, by bicycle or car. Parking is available in the lot along Lakeland, on West Broadway on either side of the bridge crossing over Highway 100, and on nearby streets. Relax, enjoy, and imagine it’s 1940 all over again!