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MMD > Archives > August 2010 > 2010.08.18 > 04Prev  Next


Coin Pianos On Public Display
By Brian Smith

If anyone knows of a Seeburg F ever being recorded, please let me know
-- this is my dream instrument.  But like 99 percent of the population
I don't have the money to purchase one.  I would like a Seeburg F with
violin pipes, and with the original side lamps pictured in the catalogue
which are non-existent.  But alas, I have not won the lottery yet.

Mechanical music, it seems, is only for the very rich.  This is a total
contrast to times back in the 'twenties [when] coin pianos were on
display in public locations.  The poorest of the poor could come up and
insert a dime into an excellent orchestrion.  You didn't have to be rich
to sit there and enjoy the greatest roll by dropping coin after coin.

I know this all too well.  When I was a kid, the Seeburg L at Castle
Park in Riverside, California, was the greatest place to hang out,
and I focused my attention on the Seeburg L.  But sadly it is no
longer there.

That seems to be the case all over America -- coin pianos have
disappeared from the public spectrum.  That takes a lot away from
a young person with coins to drop.

Brian Smith
Redlands, Calif.


(Message sent Wed 18 Aug 2010, 03:22:30 GMT, from time zone GMT-0400.)

Key Words in Subject:  Coin, Display, Pianos, Public

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