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Frankenmuth News

Serving Frankenmuth since 1906

Volume 120 No. 25

December 24, 2025

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FCF to partner with Women's Club for Schau Platz roof repair

  A popular community destination in the months of June, July, and August will receive a much needed renovation in Memorial Park,

  The Frankenmuth Community Foundation’s Legacy Ball Dachshund Derby Committee has chosen to work with the Frankenmuth Women’s Club to work together to raise funding to replace the aging roof of the Palmer Schau Platz.

  "A beloved Frankenmuth landmark for more than three decades, the Palmer Schau Platz hosts the community cherished 'Concerts in the Park,’ drawing over 45,000 attendees each summer,” FCF Executive Director Jon Webb said.

  The large decorative venue, with a stage measuring 44 x 25-feet, also serves as an important gathering space for school programs, graduations, and community celebrations. It is located in a basin of Memorial Park, behind List Elementary School and near a meandering creek which runs by, and also near the Hund Platz (Bark Park).

  The current roof has begun to fail, causing leaks and structural concerns that require immediate repair. The Women’s Club has stepped forward to lead this critical preservation effort, demonstrating their longstanding dedication to Frankenmuth.

  “Restoring this bandshell will help ensure that this treasured asset continues to enhance quality of life, draw visitors, and support the traditions which make Frankenmuth thrive,” Webb stated.

  The Palmer Schau Platz was funded through the generous Walter and Maria Palmer Foundation and was dedicated in 1995 for summer concerts, later adding dressing rooms in 1998. In English, Schau Platz means “Show Place.”

  Walter and Maria were influential in Frankenmuth. They moved here in the early 1970s, looking to establish a lodging business. They were introduced to Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland Founder Wally Bronner who sold them a parcel of land nearby the Christmas store.

  The Palmers were from Germany and built the Bavarian Haus Motel. In 1988, Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth purchased the Bavarian Haus (today’s Splash Village) as the Palmers retired and, through their foundation, provided over $1.2 million in funding to various projects within the community including school music programs, the Gunzenhausen Park and Fountain, city street Christmas decorations (namely, the over-the-street star streamer banners), and the Palmer Gateway Arch, opened in spring 2018, which was built posthumously through their Palmer Foundation which was made part of the Frankenmuth Community Foundation as a donor-advised fund.

  The arch spans M-83 between Weiss Street and Townline Road, and between Grandpa Tiny’s Historic Farm and Cross Park and the Woelkensdoerfer Cabin......

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