The original Seabreeze Park Wurlitzer 165 band organ burned up in
the March 31, 1994, fire that destroyed the park's 1915 Carousel,
Penny Arcade, Goofy House, and Ghost Train, plus many ride cars that
were stored in the carousel building for the winter.
A new replica 165 band organ made by Belgian organ builder Johnny
Verbeeck was installed in the new hand-carved carousel in 1996 but it
came with no façade, and it wasn't until recent years that the park
took steps to have a façade made for it. The façade of the Santa Cruz
Beach Boardwalk's Wurlitzer 165 band organ was used as a model, and
one like it was carved for Seabreeze by a Mexican carving shop.
Now the painting process is finally nearing completion and it is
expected that it will be finished by the end of August, close to the
end of the park's 2013 season. Definitely the park's 2014 season will
open with the band organ in its full splendor, no longer playing naked.
This page on my Wurlitzer roll web site has some pictures showing some
steps in the long multi-year process:
http://wurlitzer-rolls.com/facade.html
More pictures will be added as more of the oil-painted scenery sections
are added. Taking a leaf from Glenn Thomas' book, the intention is to
add visual interest to the organ's playing by installing a light box
showing what organ registers are playing at any given moment.
Matthew Caulfield
Irondequoit, New York
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