[ Ref. Christian Tedesco in 221003 MMDigest ]

Christian, Greetings from The Bronx! In regards to your inquiry,
there was a 'sister' organ to the one that is in Flushing Meadows
Park. It is or was identical to the one on the carousel. It may have
been the one on the El Dorado Carousel that was in Steeplechase Park.

Steeplechase Park closed in 1964 and the carousel was sold and in
1969 was shipped to Toshimaen Amusement Park in Tokyo, Japan. But it
will probably be moving again as that park closed in 2020 to make way
for a 'Harry Potter' themed venue.

At the time of the 1964-65 World's Fair there was an LP issued of the
organ playing the 87-key B.A.B. music. The other organ mentioned had
also been converted by B.A.B. to play the 87-key music. There was also
an LP issued of that organ as well.

On the back of the album covers was shown the rear of the organs,
one also showed the side of the organ on which the duplex roll frames
were mounted, one on top of the other, while on the other organ the
duplex roll frames were mounted side by side on the rear of the organ.
(Presently, I can't remember which one is which as both my albums are
deep in storage and not accessible at this time.)

As you may already know, the organ at the carousel in Flushing Meadows
Park is in deplorable condition. The first, and last time I had heard
it, it was still playing the 87-key music. This was during the National
Carousel Association (NCA) Convention that was held in the New York,
New Jersey and Connecticut area. Since then, the organ had been
converted to the Wurlitzer Style 165 roll scale. It had been reported
that, at that time, the 87-key music rolls had disappeared.

During the 1964-65 World's Fair I had no idea that there was a carousel,
let alone such a magnificent organ playing within it. Although I did
find an exhibit for Missouri, which featured a collection of various
coin operated instruments. (Needless to say, I spent almost the entire
day hanging out there. Only leaving to search for my parents when I was
hungry.)

I hope this might be of some help to you,

Dale F. Rowe
Bronx, New York
FredsOrchestrion@aol.com