Kennywood of Pittsburgh, PA features one of the most beloved combinations of carousel and band organ around. Both the instrument and ride were built in 1927 and have been at Kennywood since.
Correction, the organ is actually from 1916 and was from the park’s second carousel, but it was heavily rebuilt with a new case among other improvements in 1927 and given a new serial number, so while most of the components are from 1927, the pipes and façade are original from 1916.
I don't think that is accurate. There are no real records I know of showing that the organ was built in 1916. The oldest mention of 'Kennywood 153' in the Wurlitzer ledgers date from 1926 telling of a Wurlitzer 153 with no actual serial number listed. I believe that '153' was a misprint actually being a converted European book organ which was notated as a '150' on earlier ledgers, THAT organ listed as early as 1923 and again in 1926... Right next to the mystery 153 listing which I believe to really be about the same organ. Unfortunately, I have no idea what happened to that converted 150/153 but I suppose it was replaced by the current organ when the new carousel came. Additionally, Kennywood had a Wurlitzer 125: no 3050 which was acquired at some point and worked on at the same time as the mystery organ in 1926. The current organ was built in 1927 and is serial number 3938. It was shipped March 25, 1927. William Dentzel had the majority of his carousels equipped with a Wurlitzer 153 and this is one of them!
Mechanical Music There’s a lot mystery to this organ, but supposedly being built as late as it was, it definitely lacks the later voicing and sound of “newer” 153’s, which to me sound more like a 146
It's the violins, they need to be rebuilt. they have been worn down for playing non stop in the same location since 1927. You all have got to remember this organ is outside all of the time. That denzel can only do so much protection to a certain degree
This one sounds like so many Wurlitzers today; awful. The action is sluggish, and it really needs retuning. Is it leaking air from the reservoir or windchests? Or is the blower too weak for the job?
That organ sounds terrible like it's bellows have holes in them. It plays too softly. It sounds nothing like a real 153. All the other 153's (for example: Hershey's) sound far better than Kennywood's.
CBF1 The air supply is provided from a blower. There are no bellows. Have you even heard this organ in person? It’s voiced different than a lot of other 153’s. It has a much warmer sound than Hershey
No I never have seen it in person because I live in the United Kingdom, but the voicing is pretty bad. And one of the pipes sounds out of tune(the C note pipe at 0:34 is the one not in tune) An original sounding 153 sounds better than Kennywood's, they should replace their organ with an original voiced 153 in my opinion. Whoever made it sound different did a really bad job and they made it sound like it's choking.
@@CBF1 In my humble opinion, hearing this particular organ via a video versus in person makes an enormous difference. I'm not exactly sure how old it is, but most of the knowledgeable people I have met believe it was one of the first, if not the prototype 153 Wurlitzer built in 1915/1916. I have hear other 153 organs, and this one is, I think, the best sounding. It does sound different than other 153's and for a while, it has a number of horrible shrill notes that have since been corrected. This organ also has the best bells I have ever heard on an carousel. Whoisthisguy724 has many, many videos of this organ... and from video to video, date to date, the organ sounds different due to weather and other conditions.
