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29-512: The land within the park's boundaries is among the most historic in Los Gatos. The grantees of the Rancho Rinconada de Los Gatos , Jose Hernandez and Sebastian Peralta, constructed an adobe house on what is now one of the park's lawns. It was the first structure built in the area. The 3 ft ( 914 mm ) narrow gauge South Pacific Coast Railroad once traversed the western edge of

58-459: A miniature railway which Jones ran around his prune orchard on Winchester Boulevard and Daves Avenue. The depot and engine house, concessions and souvenir stand, and W.E. "Bill" Mason Carousel are all in Oak Meadow Park, a short walk from adjacent Vasona Park. The railroad operates weekends year-round as well as daily during school summer vacations. Steam locomotive No. 2, 100 years old in 2005,

87-476: A cheaper and more readily updated alternative to barrel music. Also used by many manufacturers including Gavioli was operation via paper music roll . These rolls were more compact and cheaper to manufacture than book music. Technically, they were more susceptible to poor handling but all systems experienced their own types of characteristic wear and tear during repeated playing. Both "book" and "roll" systems were manufactured with different operating actions which read

116-664: A more convenient place to board the train. The railroad not only agreed but allowed him to name the stop. He chose the name "Vasona", which was the name of his favorite pony during his childhood. "Vasona Junction" was the point on the line where the tracks split off from the San Jose - Campbell -Los Gatos mainline with the Vasona Branch through the Cupertino Hills to Palo Alto , allowing more direct travel to San Francisco . The name "Vasona" has reappeared locally ever since, including in

145-469: A myriad of manufacturers, in various sizes and to various technical specifications, with various trademark characteristics. Active preservation initiatives and collectors' communities are associated with vintage instruments, and new instruments and music continue to be produced. Early organs were designed to be compact and operated by an unskilled person or mechanically. These were played via an integral pinned barrel requiring no human input apart from changing

174-485: A rotating barrel with the sounds triggered by metal pins, as in a music box . Later organs employed strips of cards perforated with the music data and registration (instrument) controls called book music ; or interchangeable rolls of perforated paper called music rolls, similar to those used in player pianos. Since the advent of computer control (from the early 1970s on), some band organs have been built or converted to be played electronically. Victory , pictured above,

203-494: Is a musical organ covering the wind and percussive sections of an orchestra. Originated in Paris , France , it was designed for use in commercial fairground settings to provide loud music to accompany rides and attractions, mostly merry-go-rounds . Unlike organs for indoor use, they are designed to produce a large volume of sound to be heard above the noises of crowds and fairground machinery. As fairgrounds became more mechanised at

232-816: Is a hybrid of these technologies. Its traditional pneumatic instruments can be played either from traditional perforated books, or from its integrated Yamaha MIDI interface . Owner Willem Kelders can also use the interface to link organs ( Rhapsody and Locomotion , driven by Victory ) to play the same music together. Fairground organs have been used in many entertainment settings, including fairground rides static sideshows (such as bioscope shows ), amusements parks, and skating rinks . Many can be seen exhibited at steam fairs . Manufacturers of fairground organs also typically made instruments for indoor use in dance halls , called dance organs ; and smaller versions for travelling street use, called street organs . Like all mechanical instruments, fairground organs have been made by

261-671: The Guadalupe Watershed region and a native plant trail. The center offers nature and science school and group programs, after-school science and summer camp programs. The Vasona center is the administrative headquarters for the Youth Science Institute. Rancho Rinconada de Los Gatos El Rancho Rinconada de los Gatos was a 6,631-acre (26.83 km ) Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Clara County, California made in 1840 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Jose Maria Hernandez and Sebastian Fabian Peralta. Located in

290-593: The Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Rinconada de Los Gatos was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852, and the grant was patented to Sebastian Peralta and José Hernandez in 1860. Approximately 2,000 acres (8.1 km ) were sold to James Alexander Forbes (1805–1881) in 1853, whereupon he built Forbes Mill . The mill began operating in 1855, but Forbes went bankrupt in 1857. Three cities have been incorporated containing large sections of land from

319-424: The advent of effective electrical sound amplification in the mid-1920s. The organ chassis was typically covered with an ornate and florid decorative case façade designed to attract attention in the tradition of most fairground equipment. Giacomo Gavioli patented the use of  book music  to play organs, which later became the basis of fairground organs. In 1910, Joseph and Antoine Limonaire took over

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348-551: The building of the church by delivering supplies, and his uncles helped by volunteering their labor. He was also a leading member of the Santa Clara Dairymen's Association. He was the first to purchase a pasteurizing machine for his dairy in Los Gatos. After the death of Southern Pacific engineer Billy Jones in 1968, a volunteer-led movement secured part of the park's southern end for the reconstructed, 18 in ( 457 mm ) gauge Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad (BJWRR),

377-465: The end of the nineteenth century, their musical needs grew. The period of greatest activity of fairground organ manufacture and development was the late 1830s, particularly with the opening of the Limonaire Frères company of Avenue Daumesnil , Paris in 1839. Virtually all ambient fairground music continued to be produced by fairground organs and similar pneumatically operated instruments until

406-450: The grant: Los Gatos in 1887, Campbell in 1952, and Monte Sereno in 1957. The grant boundary forms the modern boundary between the cities of Saratoga, Los Gatos, and Monte Sereno along Quito Road. Counterclockwise and denoted with modern landmarks, the boundaries and corners of the grant were: 37°14′24″N 121°58′48″W  /  37.240°N 121.980°W  / 37.240; -121.980 Band organ A fairground organ

435-653: The month of December, the park is filled with light-powered holiday scenes, imageries, and animations which illuminate the park. The park also co-hosts the annual Pianos in the Park event organized by the Santa Clara County Parks. Opened in 1980, the Youth Science Institute - Vasona Science and Nature Center is a youth science and nature education facility operated by the Youth Science Institute. The center features natural history exhibits, live animals found in

464-528: The musical capabilities of a typical human band. For this reason they are known as band organs in the United States. The motive force for a fairground organ is typically wind under pressure generated from mechanically powered bellows in the instrument's base. Without the need for a human player, the instruments are keyboard-less (except for relatively rare configurations with one or more accordions, whose keys could be seen to move). Early organs were played by

493-633: The naming of the park. The dam was completed in 1934, and the railroad continued to run along the Western side of the reservoir until 1959. The railroad right-of-way over the reservoir is now University Avenue. Owners of property have been the Alvernaz Family, Vasona Lake Park, dairy farming through the Great Depression era. José Alvernaz started Sun Ray Dairy in Los Gatos in 1933 and was a well-respected member of his community. José Pereira Alvernaz, who

522-478: The nearby hills, as well as the "corner" formed by the narrowing gap between El Sereno and El Sombroso mountains. Sebastian Peralta and José Hernandez, brothers-in-law married to two Sibrian sisters, were granted the one and one half square league Rancho Rinconada de Los Gatos in 1840. Sebastian Fabian Peralta (1794–?) married María Gregoria Sibrian (1806–1837) in 1831. After she died, he married María Paula Sepulveda, widow of Francisco Pérez Pacheco , in 1846. He

551-445: The number of the tune being played. These had a fixed repertoire and, if it was desired to change the tunes, a complete new pinned barrel was required. To offer a more flexible choice of repertoire, a system of robust interchangeable perforated cardboard book music was patented first by Parisian manufacturers Gavioli . Their system became widely regarded as commercially advantageous and other manufacturers followed suit. Book music offered

580-596: The park en route to downtown and over the Santa Cruz Mountains to Felton and Monterey Bay at Santa Cruz Wharf. The Southern Pacific Railroad later acquired the South Pacific Coast Railroad and converted the line to standard gauge after the turn of the century. A farmer near Pollard Road, Albert August Vollmer, contacted the Southern Pacific asking for a flag stop to be established to allow

609-429: The park or swimming is not allowed. The park is also home to the Youth Science Institute, several picnic pavilions, and several hiking/biking trails. The popular Los Gatos Creek Trail , which runs from Lexington Dam to western downtown San Jose in two segments, passes through the park. It is one of the most popular parks in the south bay. Since 1999, the Park organizes the annual event Vasona Fantasy of Lights. During

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638-437: The patents when Gavioli ceased production, leading to limonaire becoming the generic French name for fairground organs. The ornate case façades frequently had percussion instruments such as a glockenspiel and drums that provided visual entertainment as they played. There were often ornate human figures, such as a conductor whose arm moved in time to the music, or women whose arms struck bells. The organs were designed to mimic

667-408: The southern San Francisco Bay Area , the grant included present-day Los Gatos and Monte Sereno , along with about a third of Campbell . It also included small sections of present-day San Jose , Saratoga and unincorporated Santa Clara County. Los Gatos Creek flowed through the center of the rancho. The name means "corner of the cats" and is derived from the cougars that are still present in

696-532: The stock market crashed and the banks were forced to close, José was doing well -- having $ 1,000 in the bank and money coming in daily. He was well-respected by the community for providing a great dairy for the town's residents. José was naturalized as an American citizen in 1930. José was also a member of: The Lions Club, the Luso-American Fraternal Federation (Past President), and he attended Five Wounds Portuguese National Church. He assisted in

725-535: Was born in 1903, on Faial Island, Azores, arrived in Providence, Rhode Island in 1916 at age 13. After a week with relatives, he set out for California. After working at various jobs, including working at the University of Santa Clara, he was able to buy a dairy in 1933 that became known as Sun Ray Dairy in Los Gatos. The dairy was in what is now Vasona Lake Park, which includes a man-made lake. The house in which José lived

754-525: Was formed by damming Los Gatos Creek . The adjacent Oak Meadow Park is owned by the Town of Los Gatos. A bald eagle was spotted in the Vasona Lake County Park in early 2017. The reservoir is host to non-power recreational boating, and a marina on site has pedal boats for public rental. Other popular water sports in the reservoir include kayaking and standup paddleboarding. Watercrafts from outside

783-426: Was located on the hill near what is now Hwy 17. The house has been torn down to make way for a new visitors’ center. Sun Ray Dairy was very successful and grew. José sold his milk, and those who did not have much money were allowed to pay him by bartering with eggs, vegetables, meat, or other products. He took very good care of his customers during those difficult years. One of his customers was Sarah Winchester. When

812-514: Was once again made operable after being reboilered over the course of about a decade. The carousel building also houses a custom built band organ that plays from Wurlitzer 150 rolls. The organ was extensively rebuilt and upgraded to include a MIDI interface in 2012. In 2013, the park's picnic areas were renovated. Vasona Park surrounds Vasona Reservoir , which is along with the Lexington Reservoir located in Los Gatos's southern edge,

841-472: Was regidor of San José . José Maria Hernandez (1802–?) married Maria Gertrudis Sibrian (1810–1851) in 1830. After she died, he married Maria Espectacion Pena. They built an adobe home where Vasona Park is now. With the cession of California to the United States following the Mexican–American War , the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by

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