The green construction tarps covering the 1908 bandstand at the center of the Dahlonega public square were installed on July 14, 2023, to protect the structure during a restoration project that the Dahlonega Historic Preservation Commission had authorized in May of that year.

It is now March 2026.

The tarps remain. The restoration has not proceeded beyond the preparatory phase. The 1908 bandstand — a hexagonal open-air structure of painted wood construction, donated to the city by the Lumpkin County Civic Improvement Association and placed on the Georgia Register of Historic Places in 1991 — sits beneath the tarps in its original pre-restoration condition, which is to say: structurally sound, cosmetically deteriorated, and unavailable for use.

The project's delay has a single, specific cause. The Dahlonega Historic Preservation Commission has not yet agreed on the color of the trim.

The Commission has held 41 meetings since the project was authorized. Paint samples have been formally submitted for the Commission's review on 17 separate occasions. The Commission has, at the close of each review, requested additional samples.

The Project's History

The bandstand restoration project was initiated by the City of Dahlonega in late 2022, following an engineering assessment that found the structure's wooden sill plates and lower decorative trim elements to be in "moderate deterioration" requiring "prompt cosmetic and preventive attention." The engineering assessment found the bandstand's structural framing to be sound and estimated the restoration cost at $78,000 to $94,000, depending on material selections and paint specification.

The Historic Preservation Commission approved the project scope at its May 2023 regular meeting. The Commission retained a preservation architect, Franklin Quarles of the Atlanta firm Quarles Historic Structures, to develop the restoration specifications. Mr. Quarles's preliminary plans — covering framing repairs, trim replacement, and the full paint specification — were submitted to the Commission in June 2023.

The June 2023 submission identified the trim specification as the primary area requiring Commission review. Per Mr. Quarles's report, the bandstand's original 1908 paint colors are not documented in any surviving record, and the Commission therefore has discretion to select a historically appropriate color scheme. The Georgia Historic Preservation Division's Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation guidance, which governs Georgia Register properties, requires that paint colors for restored structures be "consistent with the property's historic character" without mandating any specific value.

The Commission received Mr. Quarles's report at its July 2023 meeting. The tarps went up that same month, as agreed, to protect the structure during what the project file describes as the "upcoming paint-specification finalization period."

That period has now run 20 months.

What Has Happened At The 41 Meetings

The Bavarian Brainrot newsroom reviewed all 41 sets of certified minutes from the Dahlonega Historic Preservation Commission meetings between May 2023 and March 2026, obtained from the city's records office in response to a public-records request.

The bandstand project appears as an agenda item at 38 of the 41 meetings. At three meetings — December 2023, August 2024, and November 2024 — the item was tabled for lack of quorum.

Of the 38 meetings at which the project was substantively addressed:

At 17 meetings, paint samples were physically presented to the Commission. The samples were presented on painted chipboard cards, on painted wood sections matching the bandstand's trim profile, and, on three occasions, on actual sections of replaced trim installed temporarily on the bandstand structure itself before the tarps were replaced. The Commission reviewed the samples, deliberated, and requested additional samples.

At 14 meetings, the Commission discussed specific color values without reviewing new samples, typically in connection with written submissions from consultants, historical-society researchers, or members of the public who had written to suggest historically appropriate colors. The discussions produced no binding decisions.

At seven meetings, the Commission voted on a specific color or palette. Three of the seven votes were inconclusive (no proposal receiving a majority). Four produced majority votes that were subsequently reconsidered at a later meeting after one or more commissioners expressed reservations.

At no meeting, in 34 months, has the Commission reached a final, binding, sustained vote approving a paint specification for the bandstand trim.

What The Current Proposal Is

The proposal currently before the Commission, introduced at the January 2026 meeting, was developed by preservation architect Quarles in consultation with the Georgia Historic Preservation Division's technical staff. The proposal specifies a three-color scheme: Pratt & Lambert "Colonial White" (a warm cream) for the primary body surfaces, Benjamin Moore "Guilford Green HC-116" for the decorative trim elements and railing balusters, and Benjamin Moore "Wrought Iron 2124-10" for the ironwork anchor hardware.

Mr. Quarles's January 2026 presentation to the Commission characterized this three-color scheme as "consistent with the documented paint practice of public bandstands in the Northeast Georgia mountains during the period 1900-1920" and noted that a functionally identical scheme had been approved without objection by the Georgia Historic Preservation Division's review board for the Toccoa Fairgrounds bandstand restoration in 2019.

The Commission received the January 2026 proposal and tabled a vote until additional samples of the Guilford Green and Colonial White values could be prepared on trim-profile sections matching the bandstand's actual molding dimensions.

At the February 2026 meeting, the trim-profile samples were presented. Three commissioners expressed satisfaction with the Colonial White. Two commissioners expressed concern that the Guilford Green "reads too blue in direct sunlight." One commissioner asked whether a warmer green — specifically, Benjamin Moore "Dark Celery 2145-20" — could be prepared for side-by-side comparison.

The Commission requested one more round of samples.

What Mr. Quarles Says

Franklin Quarles, the preservation architect, returned a call from the Bavarian Brainrot newsroom on Wednesday afternoon. He has been managing the bandstand project for the better part of three years.

"I am a patient man," he said.

He was asked whether he had previously managed a project in which a single specification decision had required 17 rounds of samples and 41 commission meetings to resolve.

He paused.

"Not quite to this degree," he said.

He was asked whether, in his professional assessment, the paint color decision was a technically complex one.

"Paint color for a public bandstand," he said, "is not technically complex."

He was asked how much the project would cost if it began construction today, relative to the 2023 estimate.

"My updated estimate," he said, "is $103,000 to $118,000. That is a function of materials costs and contractor scheduling, not of scope changes."

He was asked when he expected the Commission to reach a final decision.

"I have learned," he said, "not to predict that."

What The Bandstand Currently Looks Like

It looks like green construction tarps.

The tarps cover the structure from the peak of the roof to the base of the floor decking, secured at the corners with bungee cords and at the edges with landscape staples in the turf below the deck. The tarps are weathered and sun-faded — consistent with a July 2023 installation — but intact. Two of the tarps have been replaced once during the project's duration, per the project file, in October 2024 after wind damage.

The bandstand is, per the city parks department, not available for use during the tarp installation. The city has, per the parks department, not booked any events at the bandstand location since the summer of 2023. The public square surrounding the bandstand is open and accessible.

The March 2026 Commission meeting is scheduled for March 24. The agenda lists the bandstand project under new paint samples. The meeting is open to the public.

— Tasha Pemberton