Great video. I grew up loving this ride and am now fortunate enough to operate and supervise it and the Jack Rabbit during the summer. A few extra tidbits worth noting: - The carousel is 54 feet in diameter making it the largest and only 4 row carousel ever built by Dentzel. The pavilion it’s housed in was the first steel structure in the park. - I don’t think it was intentional, but you got lucky and were there on a day that Tony Sacramento’s favorite roll was being played on the organ. The segment featuring Tony in the video actually has one of the songs from that roll playing in the background. Apparently Tony kept that roll for 8 seasons straight back in the 80’s! - The horses with their heads up represent males, and those with heads down represent females. Of the standers on the outer row, the head position alternates male-female. I’ve studied it long and hard, but I can’t find any pattern for the inner jumpers, though all on the innermost row are “males” with their heads up. I’m glad to see someone with as much interest in the carousel as me. I agree that is partially overlooked and not appreciated as much as it should be. If you happen to see me there at any point in the future, introduce yourself. I’d love to show you some more things up close!
Wow, thanks for this great info Michael. It's so cool that this was Tony's favorite roll. I wish I could say I did it on purpose! :-D I agree that this is the largest Dentzel built, but there are a couple of other four-row machines that max out at 66 figures, like Dorney Park's carousel. Thanks again!
Yes, an excellent video about the beloved Kennywood Carousel! This ride brings back so many memories for me. Being at the park on a beautiful day, and hearing the carousel in the background is part of being alive and enjoying yourself there. I appreciated hearing about the history of this ride!!!
Fantastic video! I spent half my life riding this carousel! I’m obsessed with band organs from this particular one. I knew Tony for years. Tony was a great guy and had a terrific sense of humor. He also had great stories! At the age of 57 I still do the same thing I did when I was 5. I go straight to the carousel as soon as I arrive at the park and take an inside horse right in front of the organ. 👍🙏❤️
It's not confirmed if the Wurlitzer 153(Organ)'s actually the earliest one. To ACTUALLY track down the year it was built in you'll have to search for the Serial Number imprinted on several different parts inside the organ. Factory records still exist from the very FIRST wurlitzer 153 (Number 2962, shipped to Rochester, NY in 1916) up until the last one which left the factory in 1936. Wurlitzer Band Organs with serial numbers 3000 first appeared in 1916 and the 4000's serial numbers first appeared in 1928. Some say that this organ has the serial number 3938 and that it came FROM the Dentzel factory WITH the carousel in 1927(the organ's original destination would've therefore been the William H. Dentzel Factory in Philadelphia). The earliest Wurlitzer 153's in the public eye that I know of are in Prospect Park, Lake Compounce(I don't think that one operates but I have heard it's being or has been restored) and Cedar Point (the Cedar Point organ is number 3053 according to various antique carousel historians).
@@amusementnow4416 I think nearly ALL Wurlitzer's have 4-digit Serial numbers. They are located on various internal parts inside the organ, possibly on the Tubas I think? At least the former Milhous Wurlitzer 157's serial number was imprinted on one of it's tubas. (that organ is number 3639, from 1924).
The serial number is in fact 3938 and is inside the cabinet towards the bottom near the pipework. The history of the organ is a bit of a mystery because it has features of both early model (violin vs flute voiced pipework, lack of a center column on the swell shutters) and a late model 153’s (the 1927 dated serial number, and new style pneumatical and mechanical workings). An educated theory proposes that it was purchased from the Wurlitzer store in Rochester in 1916 and picked up by Kennywood on site rather than shipped directly to the park, hence the shipping location for serial #2962. When the park purchased the Dentzel in 1927, they were offered a new organ to go with it but opted to keep the existing one probably because it was cheaper alternative. Dentzel, finding the organ in poor condition, sent it back to Wurlitzer where the pipework was salvaged but placed into a new cabinet along with new drums and mechanical workings and the original facade placed back in front. This explains the old style swell shutters. Since it was technically “new” it received the new serial number. It’s especially tough to get a clear answer now because a lot of original parts have been modified or replaced (the air supply, the register controls, for example) to keep it playing after all these years
If you’re wondering what I mean by violin or flute voiced pipework, compare the sound of the Kennywood 153 to Hershey which is 1926 believe. The violin voiced pipework in Kennywood’s organ has a much warmer sound than Hershey
@@marslightmodeling1753 The pipes are more shrill on Kennywood's. Someone tampered with something that warped the violin freins I believe. All 153's also had a center pillar on the swell shutters. Kennywood's probably lost it's years ago. If it has 2962's pipes, which pipe has the number "2962"?
