North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory, Musical instrument factory in North Tonawanda, United States.
The North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory is a former industrial complex in North Tonawanda, New York, originally built to manufacture mechanical musical instruments for carousels and fairs. The site is made up of several connected brick buildings anchored by a tower that stands out along Niagara Falls Boulevard.
Eugene de Kleist founded the factory in 1893 to make band organs for carousels, and later entered a partnership with the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company. That partnership helped shape how mechanical music instruments were made and sold across the United States.
The factory made Tonophones, mechanical instruments that were recognized at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition and drew attention to North Tonawanda as a place of musical innovation. Today, visitors can still see the building where that work took place, now home to local shops and a brewery.
The complex now houses retail shops, offices, and businesses including Platters Chocolates and Woodcock Brothers Brewery, all open to visitors. Old streetcar tracks around the property are still visible on the ground and easy to spot while walking around.
Before paper rolls became common, the organs played music using pinned cylinders where small metal pins triggered each note mechanically. Switching to paper roll technology made it possible to produce a wider range of tunes much faster and at lower cost.
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