The Great Spreckels Organ

The great outdoor Spreckels Organ and Pavilion in the heart of Balboa Park was a gift to the City of San Diego in 1915 from John D. and Adolph B. Spreckels, sons of the sugar millionaire Claus Spreckels. It was designed to be the centerpiece of the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition. It is still one of the world’s largest outdoor pipe organs, containing 4,518 pipes ranging in length from the size of a pencil to 32 feet.

Housed in an ornate vaulted structure with highly embellished gables, the Organ Pavilion shines brightly with special free performances and concerts every Sunday at 2!

For over ninety years, countless San Diegans have enjoyed free concerts with world-class music. The City of San Diego Park and Recreation Department in partnership with the Spreckels Organ Society present the organ concerts.

Since 1917, San Diego Civic organist  Dr. Carol Williams , the first woman to be appointed Civic Organist in the US, and other international guest artists perform free Sunday concerts year-round at 2:00-3:00 p.m.

For more information, contact the Spreckels Organ Society .

San Diego Treasures Staff:
Videographer: Michael Gerdes
Sound: Roland Lizarondo
Ron Stein: Editor
Ena Newell: Production Manager
Producer & Writer: Kathi Diamant

Music: 
" Waltz of the Flowers " by performed by Dr. Carol Williams on her " Sunday at 2 " CD.