Hello, I wanted to make this special message on my recent trip to
Seaside Heights, New Jersey, to see the newly restored carousel and
its Wurlitzer 146-A and discuss its history and restoration.
In 2012 most of the Seaside Heights boardwalk was destroyed by
Hurricane Sandy while the Dr. Floyd L. Moreland Carousel miraculously
survived the storm. This carousel was built in 1910 and it was moved
to its former Casino Pier location in 1932, where it played until it
was shut off on April 7, 2019. It took about 5 years to restore the
carousel and band organ which reopened July 3, 2024.
The Wurlitzer 146-A band organ used to sound quite loose and really
slow, as you can hear by my good friend Andrew Lardieri's videos
from 2014, before restoration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKF6fQcKww8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fByowN-EYQ
Now, since the restoration was completed, most of this band organ's
problems are fixed, which Andrew described as sounding 'Grade A'
quality but it could use a few tweaks here and there. With proper
maintenance and care, both the carousel and band organ will be in
good shape for generations to come.
Here is my video of the carousel and 146-A from this year after
restoration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDzRJeCyTaY
One other note to add is that the band organ only plays when the
carousel is running.
Cassidy Juraniec
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