13: Rotary Park

In 1969, as part of Urban Renewal, Beacon Street East Mill buildings were removed. The goal was to improve conditions downtown and attract shoppers and businesses. The city replaced many buildings, including several mill structures surrounding the Belknap Mill, with the Laconia Mall, Sunrise Towers, Stewart Park, City Hall, a parking garage and parking lots. One of the parking lots was located at this site.  

In 1994, the Belknap Mill Society conducted a feasibility study funded by the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts to convert the parking lot into a park. Laconia Rotary Club led the effort to raise $171,000 in cash and in-kind gifts. Architect Paul Mirski, whose adaptive use design of the Belknap Mill won a national award, designed the bandstand. The City of Laconia donated labor and equipment and maintains the park. This project won multiple awards, including from the Laconia Rotary Club and the Governor and a National Museum Service Award from the Institute of Museum & Library Services, which was presented at the White House in 1998. 

The Belknap Mill plans concerts that are sponsored by the Laconia Putnam Fund.