Band Organ Identity: Tilden Park
By A. B. Bonds
I have enjoyed very much the recent discussions of the various types of band organs. When I lived in Berkeley, CA I would regularly make a Sunday pilgrimage up to Tilden Park to watch the merry-go-round and listen to the organ. There are two in the pavilion. The smaller one (runs on Saturdays) is in the middle of the carousel and is, I believe, a North Tonawanda unit. The larger one is outside the carousel. The facade is about 14 ft wide and eight ft high. The pipes are contained in a shuttered swell chamber, with percussion on top. All of the pipes are wooden. It runs off of a double-roll tracker bar frame, appears as though O-rolls are used, although this installation does not look original. It sounds great (when it is in tune, not easy in that humid climate). Does anyone know what this is? I asked the folks that worked there from time to time and the only authoritative replies (in that the words sounded right) were that it was a "B & B" from Brooklyn or a Gavioli or a Gavioli reworked by B & B or some combination of those alternatives.
A. B. Bonds
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(Message sent Wed 13 Nov 1996, 19:48:22 GMT, from time zone GMT-0600.) |
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