Bandstand at Belfast Zoo, Antrim Road, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim, BT36 7PN

Bandstand at Belfast Zoo

This octagonal bandstand, constructed between 1920 and 1921, stands on a hill overlooking Antrim Road within the Belfast Zoo site. Originally built as part of the Bellevue Pleasure Gardens, it is recorded as being of architectural and social significance, though it is not formally listed.

The structure was built by W. McFarlane & Co., a foundry based in Glasgow, following the success of open-air concerts held in a temporary wooden bandstand during the first season after the gardens opened. The permanent bandstand cost £1,080 and was designed with a revolving glass screen and seating for upwards of 500 people. It features eight cast iron columns with moulded bases and Corinthian capitals supporting a chamfered post with decorative scrolled and floriated brackets to each side. These brackets support the timber roof structure, which is covered in metal sheeting with overhanging eaves. Originally positioned higher up the plateau to provide views of Belfast Lough and the city, the bandstand was relocated to its current position close to the former entrance of Bellevue Zoo around 1934, when Belfast Corporation established a 12-acre zoo on the site.

The bandstand was originally surrounded by seating and served as a venue for concerts by bands required to maintain high standards of moral excellence. From the 1930s onwards it gradually fell out of use as an entertainment venue. When the Art Deco Floral Hall dance venue opened in 1936, the bandstand was subsequently utilised to house the zoo's raccoons. The original revolving glass screen was lost and replaced with a mesh cage for animal containment, which remained in place until the Bellevue site closed to the public in June 1989.

The bandstand remains within the Belfast Zoo site, though the site is largely overgrown with pathways visible to the north and south. The structure is in a poor state of repair, retaining some original architectural features including the cast iron columns and scrolled brackets, though the metal sheet roof shows deterioration. Remains of the metal animal cage and metal balustrade between the posts are still evident. The building is currently recorded as derelict.