Hi all,  I have seen several organs that have Plexiglas installed in
the front to quiet the sound in a building acoustically unsuited to
the organ, such as a modern edifice with concrete walls.  Old carousel
buildings with good acoustics had wooden walls which promoted a warmer,
less harsh sound with better sound dispersion.

Two organs I can think of like this are the Wurlitzer 146-A at Burnaby
that Mr. Karpel already mentioned, and the Johnson 163 at the Salem
Riverfront carousel in Oregon which has been discussed a while ago.
In the case of the latter organ the problem was particularly acute due
to the many brass trumpets and trombones, which tend to make an organ
louder.

I also know at least one organ which has Plexiglas or glass installed
to prevent vandalism.  This is the Gavin McDonough "special" build-up
165 organ with a Gavioli facade on the Rye Playland carousel in New
York.  In this case a sort of "box" has been built around the front
center area of the organ, with the glass or Plexiglas forming the
front and metal screens forming the top and sides, to let the sound
out.  The organ is still plenty loud!  However, this "box" so created
does indeed protect the wooden figures on the front from vandalism,
as well as preventing inquisitive fingers from finding their way in
between the swell shutters.

However, I have visited the Santa Cruz organ in question and I can only
reiterate what I've said before; the glass is not really intended to
muffle the sound so much as to protect the organ from the salt air.

As many of you know (or can guess), salty sea air can wreak major havoc
on wood and metal components, especially those which constantly have
said air traveling through them all the time (that is, pneumatic
components).  This is to say nothing of the leather and rubber cloth
parts which can deteriorate especially rapidly in such conditions.

The carousel, and indeed the roller coaster and the rest of the
attractions at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk are about as close to the
water as you can get without being on a pier.  Just a strip of beach
sand is all that separates this park from the ocean, meaning it is
set back only a couple hundred feet.

The carousel building has a large roll-up door on the boardwalk facing
the water, which is opened when the park is open for business at the
height of the season.  The building also has doors on the other side
which are opened when the carousel is running, meaning that this
building is by no means insulated or otherwise protected from the
atmosphere outside.

Part of this may be due to economics; it is cheaper to let the breeze
blow through than to have a thoroughly insulated, climate-controlled
building running an expensive air-conditioner all the time in the
summer.  I am surprised Mr. Karpel and others criticizing the glass
arrangement of the Wurlitzer and prior Ruth organs did not notice this
or take it into account.

The ex- San Diego Seaport Village carousel, which was also practically
on the water, had a solid building with thick adobe walls and only a
relatively small doorway on one side for patrons to come and go.  The
Santa Monica Pier carousel, despite the large building, also has many
small doors to help deal with the air and the weather.  Despite this,
the recently-restored Wurlitzer 146-A was playing fairly weakly a few
months ago when I asked for it to be played.  I am not sure how much of
this is due to the air and how much to the lack of "exercise" for the
organ (they only play it on Sundays due to complaints from the tenants
upstairs).

Were the Santa Cruz organ not glassed-in, with (presumably salt-catching)
drapes hung behind the vents around the window, I am sure that it would
be ruined or at least need major work again relatively shortly due to the
atmospheric conditions in the immediate area.  This is the same reason
they are building a similar enclosure for the Ruth organ.  It has
nothing to due with controlling the volume.

The simple fact that they are miking the organ and playing it through
the sound system should make it obvious that they do not want to make
the organ softer, and the fact that it is, is an unwanted byproduct of
the glass, which is there for other reasons.

Andrew Barrett