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February 6, 2014 by tomdalzell

Accordion Stores

I succumbed.  I did what I ought not to have done.  I ran down the rabbit hole and scoured for photos of accordion stores.  And schools.  I find the signs quirky, even if not in Berkeley.  And I suspect that I am a fairly small minority on this one.

Little Accordion

Yesterday (5 February, 2014) I was taught the term “research rapture.”  It is the risk of getting constantly and repeatedly sidetracked in following intriguing bits of information, or constantly searching for one more elusive fact.  In my case, facts or photos.  I know it well.  I love the term.

Little Accordion

I never tried playing an accordion.  I have played or tried to play piano, guitar, electric bass (fretted and fretless), upright bass, banjo, mandolin, and clarinet (don’t ask).  But not accordion.

Little Accordion

Summers in Maine growing up we spent a lot of time with Sally and John Gay and their daughters.  I remember a few times John getting out his accordion after dinner and playing it as my mother played piano.

Little Accordion

My closest enounter with an accourdion was in 1982.  I was living on 37th Street in Oakland, licking my wounds from having been fired for the fourth and final time by Cesar. Scott Washburn, also part of the UFW diaspora, was living with his family in the basement of a church not many blocks away.

Scott was a great keyboard player.  He had played electric piano in a traveling strip show band in the midwest in his teens.  He introduced me to NRBQ.  He was a big fan of them and their pianist, Terry Adams.  He loved Terry’s work with a toy piano.

In 1982, we would meet up in an auditorium at the church, Scott and my best friend Cres Fraley and Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva (who are now the Kitchen Sisters) and a few others and play music.  Scott played accordion.  I was playing electric bass at the time, sometimes piano.  Scott talked of taking the group on the road, playing at 30 dives in 30 nights, and chronicling it.  We never did it but it was a great idea.  I wonder if it is too late to try this?

Little Accordion

So when I went looking for photos of accordion stores what did I find?   I am going to build up to the best.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Sunderland Mass Button Box

Sunderland, Massachusetts (Button Box)

c 2

Sunderland

Store SF 2

San Francisco

Store SF 1

San Francisco

Store Salt Lake City 2

Salt Lake City

Store Salt Lake city

Salt Lake City

Store Clearwater

Clearwater, Florida

Store New York

New York

Store New York

Oakland

Oakland

Oakland 2

Oak Lawn 2

Oaklawn 1

Oak Lawn, Illinois

Los Angeles 1

Los Angeles

Houston

Houston

STORE SOUTH AMBOY 2jpg

South Amboy, New Jersey

Accordion-o-rama south amboy

Accordion-O-Rama, New Jersey 

Seattle

Seattle

Petosa 2

Seattle

 Petosa 3

 

London

London

London 2

London

London 1

London

Now for the ones that I think are really good.  Runner up goes to Paris:

Store Paris Better

And the grand prize to Cleveland.  It is not often that you could say second prize Paris, first prize Cleveland.  But here, I think so:

426271816_406bae54af

Clevland, Ohio

Clevland, Ohio

Why do I think that this is so wonderful?  Not sure why.  A strong affinity with old weird America.  An affection for the tide going out?

The next sign photo is not from a store or a museum.  It honors an accordion player.

1-6568-Myron-Floren-Sign

Roslyn, South Dakota

How cool is this?  It is not the only one.

Lawrence Welk Sign. Strasburg NDjpg

Strasburg, North Dakota

At Welk’s birthplace, an accordion-playing mannequin greets visitors:

Lawrence Welk mannequi

Weird!

Now accordion schools.  Promise: the school photos finish with the BEST PHOTO yet of an accordion business.

Acme Accordion Shool Belfiore craven2 East Antrim

Theodore School of Music, Union Street, San Francisco (gone now)

Theodore Pezzolo’s School of Music, 1666 Union Street, San Francisco (gone now)

Isn’t this the BEST ever, the MOST PERFECT ever, the VERY PERFECT BEST????

This is what the building looks like today, thanks to Google Maps.

Screen Shot 2014-02-28 at 5.47.33 AM

It appears that the current owner held on to the clef signs grill on the left from Theodore’s.  Good move!

When I showed these photos to my friend, he was busy doing research himself.

Garth Hudson

He was listening to every Band song with an accordion.  That’s a good start.  He pulled up a photo to show me:

Accordion mural Riochacha Colombia

Riochacha, Colombia

“I think you need a post on accordion murals.  Not just Cajun. All accordions.”

I welcomed his suggestion but drew the line there.  Not going there.  I have chased this dragon far enough.

I came back to the stores and photos.  He skimmed through them until Buday, and then he got stuck.  Overall?

IMG_3677

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3 Responses to Accordion Stores

  1. Will Kirkland says:
    March 31, 2016 at 10:45 pm

    Most excellent! But you have to dust off your chaps and spurs and take a tour of Mexico, no?
    The maestro, Flaco J!

    Reply
    • tomdalzell says:
      March 31, 2016 at 11:53 pm

      I get to Flaco in another hidden post – see http://quirkyberkeley.com/gabby-and-accordions/

      Tom

      Reply
  2. Bruce Triggs says:
    November 17, 2018 at 10:39 pm

    Very nice! There’s work to be done on Accordion Status and Sculptures all over the world as well.

    Reply

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