Wurlitzer Jukebox News An Insight In to the Jukeboxes World

Pittsburgh Jukebox Collector Faces Uncertain Future

photo credit: divinehammer42

A leading collector of vintage jukeboxes in the US city of Pittsburgh expressed his hopes recently that he will be able to continue with his vast trove, after being forced to move due to the construction of a motorway.

Larry Ginsburg has collected jukeboxes of all shapes and sizes, as well as pinball machines, children’s fairground rides and other memorabilia of American pop culture in a massive warehouse in Pittsburgh’s Millvale Industrial Park.

The former brewery was ideal for the collector’s purposes, thanks to its 40,000-square-foot area. As well as the items themselves, it also housed a collection of some million spare parts in order to keep those vintage jukeboxes in perfect working order.

But all that was to change when Larry learnt that his warehouse was in the way of the proposed new Route 28.

"I knew there was no way I could keep all the stuff, let alone move it to another location," he told the local news. "So I went along with the state's decision to auction off the contents of the building last year."

Larry kept many items from his personal haul, but was forced to bid himself for items placed in the auction. Now his reduced collection is being kept in a smaller building, plus "pretty much anywhere I could find a spot."

His deal with the state means that his ground rent is covered for a year – during which he is forbidden from selling items to the public. He is using the time well, making a living from repairing jukeboxes and other machines, while running his other business – hiring out vending machines.

Ultimately, he plans to rent a larger building with a storefront, so that he can display some of his rarer items, such as Wurlitzer jukeboxes and a vintage Pepsi vending machine.

"These things won't be for sale, but I think people would like to be able to come in and see them," he said.