Main Street Park is an existing city park located in Monmouth’s downtown core, bounded by historic storefronts, civic buildings and Western Oregon University’s campus. The park serves as the heart of the town and is well used by the community. The Amphitheater project comprises two small structures anchoring a sloped lawn and seating band. The bandshell’s stage is programmed to house the community’s summertime music concerts, Children’s Theater, Movies in the Park, and other outdoor theatrical events by the community and college.

The bandshell’s sculptural form creates an omni-directional building, resulting from its urban context and the need to provide both a stage-front facing the park, and street-fronts facing the neighborhoods. Multiple access points in and around the stage eliminate a back-of-house side typical of most performance spaces. Three brick volumes support a folding steel frame and metal-clad wood roof deck, diverting stormwater to raingarden planters along the stage perimeter. The brick volumes serve multiple functions, - as structure, performance greenrooms, and storage for seasonal events.

Large swinging stage doors provide screening during concert events, and can also be positioned into intermediate configurations, creating a variety of backstage zones for diverse performances. The panels’ exterior are custom tile-clad, while the inner faces are exterior-grade bamboo, for a mix of potential acoustic and enclosure properties. Understated and economical ornamentation is provided by manipulation of the brickwork detailing, through projections and voids to transmit light, cast shadows and provide acoustic texture where needed.

The Restroom/Support Building provides services and below-ground utilities including a water storage cistern which captures fountain splashpad-water to be re-used for the park irrigation at night. A subtle sloping lawn, bisected by a curved concrete seating band provides comfortably-scaled seating areas for variously-sized performance events, and allows the open space to house other flexible recreational uses. The Amphitheater and Restroom buildings quietly anchor the park, framing views and providing additional amenities, enhancing this historic small town’s vibrant and welcoming community spirit.