It's a shame what happens to some of these old machines.  I remember
an abandoned church not far from where I was raised.  In this church
stood a really old, stately-looking empty Wurlitzer ex-player piano,
or maybe it was an orchestrion.

The piano case was very unusual.  There was a single spool door up
top, (it looked similar to an old Cable or Starr) centered in the
panel.  The bottom panel was made from two doors, and original that
opened up like a cupboard.  There was no player action present but
certainly it had one at one time.  The sides were inlaid with an inner
panel and looked very much like a side of an old kitchen cupboard.

The plate was a bluish-green, indicating it was early, and the
plate simply stated "The Rudolph Wurlitzer Co, Cincinnati O."  The
key cheeks did not have notches or curves, they were straight like
the old mission style pianos.  All in all, it would have been a very
handsome piano, and quite restorable.  I have never seen another one
of this style.  If I had to guess, it would perhaps be an early 65-note
player; however, I never seen one with doors on the bottom like that.

I tried for several years to rescue this piano, moving it about
from place to place when visited the old church because the roof
was going bad.  The caretakers insisted the piano was not for sale,
and that was that.  One night, some kids decided to trash the old
church, and scattered that poor old Wurlitzer everywhere, destroying
it completely, along with windows and pews.  The caretakers ordered
the church building burned shortly afterward and that was that.

When I read about of the plight of these fairground organs, I am
reminded of this long gone Wurlitzer.  It seems a shame some people
in possession of these rare instruments would rather see them rot or
be destroyed than sell them to someone who will take care of them.

Andy Taylor