Sioux Falls in Minnehaha County, South Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Sioux Falls Municipal Band
McKennan Park Historic District
Photographed By Ruth VanSteenwyk, October 3, 2017
1. Sioux Falls Municipal Band Marker
On Sunday July 11, 1920, at McKennan Park, several thousand people attended the first concert of the Sioux Falls Municipal Band. A year earlier, in the first city election allowing women to vote, citizens approved a proposal to support a city band.
The Cosmopolitan Club led a project to build a band shell as a gift to the city. On dedication Sunday, July 4, 1926, evening ceremonies marking the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence drew an enormous audience of 10,000 person to this site.
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Frequent changes in conductors, economic woes of the 1930s, and World War II threatened the band's very existence. Two strong leaders kept the band alive. Russel D. Henegar, formerly of the famous Sousa Band, conducted the band for 29 seasons (1935-63). Leland A. Lillehaug, who in 1964 added the first women musicians to the all-male group, led the band for 23 seasons (1964-86).
A Sioux Falls Municipal Band concert on a Sunday afternoon in McKennan Park provides a rare vignette of Americana for the fortunate citizens of this area.
Erected 1999 by Minnehaha County Historical Society and in Honor of Maria & Medeleine Nelson, City of Sioux Falls, Thomas A. Blake Law Office, and
this page online
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Entertainment • Parks & Recreational Areas. In addition, it is included in the Daughters of the American Revolution series list. A significant historical date for this entry is July 11, 1920.
Location. 43° 31.783′ N, 96° 43.378′ W. Marker is in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in Minnehaha County. Marker is on East 26th Street west of South 4th Avenue. Marker is in McKennan Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Sioux Falls SD 57105, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Helen Gale McKennan (within shouting distance of this marker); The Playgrounds & Baseball Field (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The McKennan Park Pond & Wading Pool (about 600 feet away); The Formal Gardens, Caretaker's Lodge & Greenhouse (about 800 feet away); McKennan Park World War I Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); A Park Born in Controversy / McKennan Park Zoo (approx. 0.2 miles away); Lady Liberty (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Sunken Garden (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sioux Falls.
Photographed By Ruth VanSteenwyk, October 3, 2017
2. Sioux Falls Municipal Band Marker
Photographed By Ruth VanSteenwyk, October 3, 2017
3. Sioux Falls Municipal Band Marker and Band Shell
June 10, 2022
4. McKennan Park Band Shell Cornerstone
Credits. This page was last revised on June 12, 2022. It was originally submitted on January 28, 2018, by Ruth VanSteenwyk of Aberdeen, South Dakota. This page has been viewed 301 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 28, 2018, by Ruth VanSteenwyk of Aberdeen, South Dakota. 4. submitted on June 12, 2022. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
