Inset photo by Mark Hunsberg
When the Lake Park Pavilion opened in July 1903, the main floor was used for indoor summer concerts and the lower floor as a changing room for lake swimmers. That same year, a local photographer captured a photo of concert-goers set just west of the pavilion, where a gazebo, torn down in 1954, once stood. A copy now hangs in Lake Park Bistro, the upscale eatery restaurateurs Joe and Paul Bartolotta opened in the pavilion after signing a 20-year lease in 1995 and completing a $1.3 million renovation. At some point thereafter, a collector sent Joe a worn postcard of the photo, which he enlarged and framed – and restaged earlier this year, inviting both employees and customers to show up at Lake Park on Sept. 5 in modern dress. Joe himself is seen standing at the back left of the photo in a blue shirt and hat.