Spreckels Organ Pavilion, Outdoor pipe organ in Balboa Park, San Diego, US
The Spreckels Organ Pavilion is a music venue with Italian Renaissance architecture that houses over five thousand pipes in an open-air setting. The ornamental structure stands in Balboa Park and creates an impressive concert space without a roof.
John D. Spreckels and his brother Adolph B. Spreckels gave the pavilion and organ to San Diego on December 31, 1914, for the 1915 Panama–California Exposition, donating $66,500 for the building and $33,500 for the organ. Theodore Roosevelt spoke here before nearly 19,000 people on July 27, 1915. The organ grew from 3,400 pipes in 1915 to 5,017 pipes in 2015.
The pavilion carries the name of John D. Spreckels and his brother Adolph B. Spreckels, who gave the organ and building to the city on December 31, 1914, on condition that it be used for free entertainment. Free Sunday organ concerts continue that promise, and each December the San Diego Community Christmas Center sets up nativity scenes inside the pavilion.
The organ faces north so the pipes stay out of direct sunlight, which means the audience sits facing south toward the stage. Concerts are free and take place at 2:00 pm on Sundays; summer brings Monday 7:30 pm festival concerts plus Tuesday-to-Thursday "Twilight in the Park" shows. The pavilion sits at the corner of President's Way and Pan American Road East.
The organ's 5,017 pipes face north to protect them from sunlight, so audiences sit facing south. Commercial airplanes landing at San Diego International Airport sometimes compete with the instrument's sound.
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