Shepard Park amphitheater design unveiled & applauded

By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor

There seemed to be universal appreciation when design of the new Shepard Park Amphitheater was unveiled Thursday, Jan. 30, at the Fort William Henry Carriage House. “It’s nice to see so many people care,” Lake George Village Mayor Ray Perry told the gathering of about 100 people.

A steering committee ranging from elected officials and architects to events presenters and artists devised the plan.

The design — still open to community input, they noted — is by Andy Allison, whose AJA architectural firm in Glens Falls also designed the renovated Carriage House where the meeting was held.

The former pavilion was destroyed in an early morning fire last June, days before the summer season of near-nightly events was to begin. “We’ll build it back even better,” Mayor Perry said at the time.

The expected $4.4 million cost will be funded by grants and other outside funding, Mayor Perry said. He said he’s so confident “I’m sleeping better at night.”

He later told The Chronicle some money will come from the $10 million New York State Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant awarded jointly to Lake George Town and Village last year. Even before the fire, the DRI plan had included upgrades to Shepard Park.

Two most notable features of the new amphitheater:

• Emphasis on lake views and sound quality, said the architect Mr. Allison, including a narrow roof line and glass back wall that opens up, accordion-style. “It does everything it can to get out of the view of the lake, and with geometry geared toward an acoustic performance.”
• New full basement that opens to the lakeshore walkway. It will include two green rooms, common space and bathrooms for performers, plus storage space for large instruments, chairs and such, and a lift to bring them to the main stage.

  Such amenities are the main thing performers asked for, both Mayor Perry and Arts Project director, event producer Tanya Tobias-Tomis said.

  Mr. Allison said the new two-story back view, “is most exciting…how that’s going to be perceived when you’re looking at it from on a boat.”

Other notable features

• Reflecting nature: Wooden truss design meant to evoke trees
• Significantly larger stage
• Steel girder supports for hanging sound and light equipment
• New sound and production booth

Shepard Park itself

“It’s really a full overhaul of Shepard Park,” Mayor Perry told The Chronicle:

• For kids: New natural-design playground
• Stone-and-grass spectator seating tiers extended to the north hill facing the stage
• ADA-compliant paths including a long, gently graded trail connecting to the shorefront walkway
• New lighting, WiFi and AV towers in the seating area
• Upgraded stormwater features and plantings
• For the performers: Improved equipment load-in setup and parking

Community healing

Part love-fest and community healing, Thursday’s event was testament to the significance Shepard Park holds.

Mayor Perry recalled “the distinct displeasure of seeing that stage destroyed by fire” last year. He applauded contractors and community members who stepped up. Within two days, the remains were removed, a temporary stage installed, and “only one show was cancelled.”

He cited “the enormous amount of public outreach and feedback — via social media, direct phone calls and people just walking up to you in the street and saying, Hey, I think you should do this.”

“In a world…where the political climate may vary from person to person and place to place, this is something we can all be together on.” said the mayor. “It’s a place you know is very dear to my heart. I’m sure you guys all love it too.”

Ms. Tobias-Tomis cited “dozens” of emails and calls, right away after the fire, from locals, far-flung patrons and performers — even guitar great Albert Cummings reached out.

“It was a lot of hearing from people how much the bandstand meant to them,” she said. “But it was not as much the physical space itself. It was the experience, the memories they were creating there. That’s why we’re all here.”

Mr. Allison enthused, “You’re positioned for the first time, probably in forever..to do something really special here.”

Aiming to have it ready for 2026

The coming season, like last year’s, will be performed on temporary stages.

Mr. Allison said, “We’re looking to get construction documents done by the end of April, get all the funding in place somewhere in the April-May-June time frame, bidding in June and July…

“We want to award construction sometime this summer, so that whoever gets this project as a contractor can start buying all the materials to have ready to go, so when the end of the performance season comes this year, we can start construction right away.

“That’ll put us in a good position to be open and ready for the 2026 summer season.”

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