Nickelodeon

Player Piano Company - Kansas - Coinola O Roll Nickelodeon.

The nickelodeon was previously on display by the Kapok Tree Restaurant located in Clearwater, Florida. Visiting the restaurant was a real experience with indoor and outdoor areas that captured your senses with exotic plants, ornate fixtures, musical instruments, statues and various dining arrangements on main and upper floors, not to mention great menu options. I remember standing for quite sometime feeding quarters into the nickelodeon and listening and watching it play, wishing it was my own.,

Sadly, the Kapok Tree closed it's doors around 1989 and later reopened as a music store,

I happened to be with my boys one day in 1990 while Donna was working and we took a trip to check out the store where to my surprise I spotted the restaurant nickelodeon was available for sale.

I had always had an interest in mechanical music and a desire to own a player piano and even thought that some day purchasing a couple of them as a project to connect the together. Take that up a notch with a nickelodeon that uses the same type of paper rolls but contains various additional instruments including a piano and this peaks my interest greatly.

The price was one thousand dollars plus tax and included free delivery. I pulled out my American Express card on the spot and purchased it for a total of $1070. Upon delivery of the nickelodeon to our home we opened the coin box and excitedly counted out $35 in quarters which covered half of the tax.

I have performed minor repairs including replacement of the the vacuum motor and adding lights, etc.

I have purchased additional paper O rolls, each containing ten songs.

Tambourine and wood block. Individual rubber tubes in background connect to each key and instrument function.