On a sunny August afternoon in 2024, as a light ocean breeze fanned across Pershing Park in Santa Barbara, California, a familiar song could be heard. “Come Fly with Me,” the Frank Sinatra classic from 1958, trilled out from the jaunty brass, woodwind, and percussion players of the Prime Time Band, many of whom are old enough to remember when Ol’ Blue Eyes was one of the country’s most popular entertainers.

They were there for the grand reopening of the newly restored Plaza del Mar Band Shell, a throwback to a time when music wasn’t readily available at the touch of a phone app. Built in 1919 and designed by architect Winsor Soule in the Mission Revival style with Classical Revival elements, the band shell had been a mainstay of Santa Barbara civic life for decades. Nearly 29 feet tall, the cornice- and parapet-topped structure is highly visible from surrounding roads. It features a circular stage with a domed ceiling, curving staircases, and decorative pilasters. In 1990 it was designated as a city landmark.

But as times and tastes changed, the stage gradually fell into a state of decline. In the years before the pandemic, although the band shell was still in sporadic use, it was no longer a prime destination.

“When it was developed, it was the gathering place for the community,” says Jill Zachary, director of the city’s parks and recreation department. “The band shell was maintained over the decades, but perhaps not adequately. Over time, use decreased as a result of other events and opportunities within the community.”

Other building problems included failing plaster and concrete, missing and damaged trim, peeling paint, and extensive soiling and biofilm.

Over the next three years, the firm oversaw an ambitious rehabilitation project for the band shell, working with locally based Winick Architects. Additional collaborators included electrical and structural engineers and an ARG conservator. The work entailed a roof replacement, repairs to the structure and exterior, and electrical upgrades such as restoring and updating the shell’s historic marquee lighting. Luckily, Currie says, the city retained blueprints from the original construction to help guide the team.

One of the most challenging aspects was determining how to retrofit the structure with an accessible ramp. ARG developed a 3D model to guide the project, which allowed the firm to try a couple of different solutions before ultimately opting to wrap the ramp around the back of the building, a move that provides a gentle grade while preserving the stage’s historic appearance.

“Since it’s a pavilion in the landscape,” Currie says, “there’s not a great spot to do a straight shot type of ramp, and that’s where we came up with this concept of wrapping it around the back side. So the main view from the audience is largely unchanged, and the ramp feels like it’s part of the building without going to a modern lift system.”

When it came to booking the entertainment for the reopening ceremony, Santa Barbara’s Prime Time Band was a fitting choice. Composed of about 80 amateur musicians who are over 40 years old—indeed, many are of retirement age or close to it—the Prime Time Band offers its members a chance to dust off instruments they may not have touched since high school.

“You get on that stage and start playing, and acoustically it is superb,” says the band’s music director, Paul Mori. “As a musician you want two things: You want to be able to hear well within the group, and you don’t want to feel like you’re playing all by yourself, like the sound isn’t being sucked up. When you play outside, it can be a very disturbing experience, especially for amateurs, because you feel like the sound is disappearing into the air. The amazing thing about the band shell is that you can hear everyone and you have that comforting boost from the structure behind you to project your music to the audience.”