Recent renovations to the bandshell in City Park were completed with the addition of a plaque commemorating then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy’s visit to the area in 1960. Work included repainting, replacing rotted wood with metal, repairs to the soffit and fascia and coating the concrete with an epoxy, officials said. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG — Recent renovations to the bandshell in City Park were completed with the addition of a plaque commemorating then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy’s visit to the area in 1960.

The project began in the spring but some of the work was paused to accommodate Artsbridge’s summer concert series at the bandshell, Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce said.

Work included repainting, replacing rotted wood with metal, repairs to the soffit and fascia and coating the concrete with an epoxy, he said.

“The bandshell was something that was of value, we wanted to keep and maintain,” Joyce said.

Jimmie Harper Construction was the main contractor on the project. The cost was approximately $35,000, city Engineer Adam Stout said.

This plaque recently installed at the renovated Parkersburg City Park bandshell commemorates President John F. Kennedy’s visit to the city when he was campaigning in the 1960 Democratic primary. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

Joyce said he was reminded around the start of the project that Kennedy visited the park during the 1960 Democratic primary and thought it would be good to commemorate that famous event in local history with a plaque. An estimated 4,000 people gathered to hear Kennedy speak at the bandshell.

“I heard my dad and old friends … talk about going out there,” Joyce said.

The improvement was one of many made over the last eight years to the city’s parks, Joyce said, pointing to the installation of the splash pad and replacement of the Jackson Memorial Fountain in City Park, the renovation of the Southwood Park pool and ongoing work on the waterslide there.

Much of that started from a parks advisory board that was appointed by members of City Council and worked with the administration in 2017-18, Joyce said. That led to a parks plan prepared by Pickering Associates.

The next major project is the construction of a new recreation center on the site where the City Park pavilion was recently demolished.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.