By Harrison Power
Picnic at the Pops is one of the annual events in Modesto that celebrates the local performing arts and has brought people together over shared music, food, and community since 1995. The family-friendly concert is put on by the Modesto Symphony Orchestra, which has been supporting Modesto’s musicians since the group was founded in 1931 by Frank Mancini, Milan Langstroth, and Leonardo Fristrom. When the MSO was formed, the Modesto News Herald popeditorial page noted, “Every person with the welfare of Modesto at heart will enthusiastically support the Modesto Symphony Orchestra movement. For if plans now made are carried through, the community will receive important cultural advantages” – a sentiment which rings true still, with the MSO sponsoring a variety of community events and programs. While tickets to MSO events can be purchased online or in-person at the Gallo Center Ticket Office, the Modesto Symphony Orchestra’s offices can be found downtown at 911 13th Street in a building that is as unique and nearly as old as the Orchestra itself. The address has connections to an early Modesto civic leader and even a music studio before the current one-of-a-kind building was completed in 1937.
Originally located at 911 13th Street was the residence of George and Ida Wren. George Wren moved to Modesto in 1902 and was an early real estate broker who gained a favorable reputation, having served on the city council from 1903-1907. He was among the proponents of a new municipal government for Modesto, resulting in the City Charter of 1910 being proposed by prominent business and civic leaders which was ratified by voters on September 11, 1910. The charter established a commission style of government led by four council members and a mayor, and voters elected George Wren as the first Mayor of Modesto under the new charter in June 1911. After George Wren passed away at his 13th Street home on December 13, 1923, the home became available for rent and for a time was the Modesto Music Studios starting in 1930, led by Carroll McKee.
By 1936 the property was purchased by Dr. R. E. Maxwell, who sought to build a new medical practice building on the site. Construction of the new building was done by C. C. Meissner, and Milton Simms was the architect. Completed in April 1937, the medical building included modern features for the time, including glass block for natural lighting, and was considered to be a “semi-early California design, with an English cast, and a roof of red tile” with a white painted brick exterior. For medical care, the building included facilities that were essentially fit for a small hospital, from consultation and exam rooms to surgery, laboratory, and x-ray rooms. While modern materials were a noted component of the design, so too was the inclusion of Dr. Maxwell’s brick collection! Of the bricks used in the building’s construction, many were obtained from the old defunct town of Langworthy near Oakdale and some were even collected from California’s Spanish missions.
After nearly two decades as a medical practice, the building was used by a few different tenants, including the Teamsters Union Local 386 and later the law offices for Damrell and Damrell. Then, in 2003, it became the home of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra, as it continues to be today.
While designed for providing medical care, the historic brick building at 911 13th Street has served a number of uses since it opened in 1937, and is as distinctive for its style and building materials today as it was when it was then. A true Modesto cultural institution, the Modesto Symphony Orchestra continues its mission of enhancing our community through meaningful musical experiences, now well into their ninth decade. So be sure to check out the Picnic at the Pops event, and other MSO performance offerings throughout the year to support a vibrant music community!
