I decided this morning to drive to Golden Gate park in San Francisco
to visit the "hidden" carousel behind the tennis courts.  San Francisco
has its best weather this time of year.  A bit hazy for a postcard
day.  The sun was out.  The park was full with those who wanted to see
the last days of the Old De Young art Museum.  It will be replaced in
five years with a new building of Swiss design, a major project.

Coming around the corner I almost felt I could hear the band organ.
Would it be open this time of year?  Yes!  I could see it rotating
behind the glass.  I bought a handful of tickets and went in.

The organ was a Gebruder Bruder Waldkirch as I recalled.  I was sorry
to see the conductor figure was missing.  I had hoped to photograph
this figure with a calibration target.  The organ was playing and it
sounded good.  On the ride I was surprised to see what looked like a
Wurlitzer roll frame and several 150 rolls.  I asked the operator if I
could look at the organ.  (I had forgotten what it is like to be in the
center with the ride functional.  What a thrill!)

The last time I saw it, I am sure this was a book-operated machine.
The operator said the books were gone but the keyframe was under a
collection of coats that looked like a lost and found pile.  No sign of
the broken conductor figure.  Hopefully it is safe somewhere?

The rollframe was some sort of jury-rig with syncro motors.  It did
have a pneumatic for the rewind.  The operator said he liked how he
could stop it with some buttons on the spool box.  He tended to let it
play about three or four tunes then would rewind it.  He did say the
rewind was not working well.  I noted the rolls on the top: 13172,
13425, 13067, 13076, 13153, all Play-Rite recuts.  I could not see
which one was on the spool as the rewind happened quite quick.

The only number I could see on the inside of the case was 5360.
I saw inside also some papers with operating instructions from Erb
Engineering.  I know these folks from the local MBSI chapter.  I would
not think they would butcher such an instrument.  I suspect this was
something the city wanted.  Perhaps it was they only way to keep it
playing.

There was also something about checking the bearings for overheating.
The lower board was on tight so I could not see how the vacuum or the
bellows were configured.  The operator was willing to let me look.  The
rest of the paperwork was notice to city employees about worker's rights
and health benefits.

The case was empty which used to tell what merry-go-round this
is.  The only thing on one of the rounding boards said "Spillman
Engineering, Ross Davis, agent."  As far as I know the animals are wood.
There were two unrestored 1890s horses from an earlier machine, in the
center with "Do not touch."  The only signs about said photography is
for personal use only.

After an hour or so the operator switched to recorded music, I suppose
to let the bearings cool.  He did not seem to want go back to the band
organ.  I asked to hear it one more time.  He said it was too loud and
it frightened the kids.  One girl kept trying to hit it as she went by
(when it was not playing).  He did play it again and quite a few people
came in -- you could really see them pep up when the live music started
after the pathetic recording.  (I suspect the recording was a Wurlitzer
165, as the recording had bells and some depth to the composition.
I say "pathetic" because of the mushy low-volume sound.)  It is too bad
there are not some of those great European arrangements for this fine
machine.

The operator stopped asking me for tickets, so I gave the rest to a
lady who said she came every Saturday to ride with the kids.  The
fathers seemed to like the ostriches and the little kids liked the
frog.  Nice to see a whole generation, at the dawn of a new millennium,
who will remember when they are older what fun these thing are.

Julie Porter

 [ Matthew Caulfield adds:  "Ross R. Davis was the West Coast agent for
 [ Herschell-Spillman.  He (his father Oliver before him too, and his son
 [ John, until he sold out to Rand and Openshaw) owned the Griffith Park
 [ and the Lincoln Park merry-go-rounds in Los Angeles, and also the
 [ Tilden Regional Park merry-go-round in Berkeley CA."  -- Robbie