[NJARC] Musical Wonder House Leaves Customers Wondering

[Bill Burns]

Some public info here from an insider:

http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/KWIC/K/konvalinka.html

Bill

On 12/21/2014 8:46 PM, Joe Devonshire via NJARC wrote:
>
> Yes, I know this isn't radio related, but for those whose interests
> include automatic musical instruments, this is a sad story.  I believe
> they had some Victrola's, & Edison machines as well.  It's been many
> years since we were to this museum.  Nobody seems to know where the
> collection went.
> Regards,
> Joe Devonshire
> Jefferson, ME
> Lincoln County News Mobile <http://lincolncountynewsonline.com/m>
>
>
> Musical Wonder House Leaves Customers Wondering
>
>
> 11/25/2014 2:00:00 PM
>
> *By Abigail W. Adams*
>
> The 19th century mansion that formerly housed The Musical Wonder House
> on 16-18 High St. in Wiscasset, Thursday, Nov. 20. The Musical Wonder
> House closed suddenly and without explanation last spring. (Abigail
> Adams photo)
> *The 19th century mansion that formerly housed The Musical Wonder House
> on 16-18 High St. in Wiscasset, Thursday, Nov. 20. The Musical Wonder
> House closed suddenly and without explanation last spring. (Abigail
> Adams photo)
> *
>
> The Musical Wonder House was, at one time, a gem of Wiscasset. Opened by
> Danilo Konvalinka, Lois Ernst Konvalinka, and Douglas Henderson in 1963,
> the business achieved international acclaim for its collection of
> antique music boxes and instruments that filled the 32 room mansion on
> High Street.
>
> The collection attracted thousands of visitors each year; was written
> about in on-line and print publications across the country, and received
> the Business Recognition Award from the Wiscasset Board of Selectmen in
> 2012.
>
> Today, the Musical Wonder House is an empty building with broken
> windows, dead weeds, peeling paint, and a notice that the property is
> vacant/abandoned. It closed suddenly and without explanation in the
> spring of 2014.
>
> The only notice provided to customers was a printed out paper, dated May
> 25, 2014, taped to the front window that reads: "After 50 wonderful
> years at this location, The Musical Wonder House has closed. Thank you
> to our many loyal patrons."
>
> The Musical Wonder House was more than a museum. It was a business that
> restored, bought, and sold antique music boxes, player pianos, and
> talking machines. The Musical Wonder House not only left the general
> public in the dark about its sudden and mysterious closure. It, also,
> gave no notice, or explanation to many of its former customers that had
> left their property with the Musical Wonder House for restoration and
> sale - property that is now missing.
>
> Roxann Lannan was one of those customers.
>
> A Vernon, Conn. resident, Lannan frequently vacationed in Wiscasset. One
> of her favorite places to visit was the Musical Wonder House where she
> has fond memories of Danilo Konvalinka, a classically trained pianist,
> give private concerts on the antique organs in his collection that
> echoed throughout the 19th century sea captain's mansion.
>
> In 2006, however, The Musical Wonder House changed hands. Konvalinka
> established the Danilo Konvalinka Trust to ensure the continued
> operation of his passion project. Joseph Villani and Paulo Carvalho
> assumed control of the business.
>
> In 2009, Lannan handed over two antique music boxes to Villani and
> Carvalho. She was told that if she paid $5,000 to have the crank
> polyphones restored, they would be able to resell them for her for an
> enormous profit. They charged her $5,500 for the restoration then
> stopped returning her calls.
>
> After two years, Lannan threatened to contact a lawyer. On Aug. 23,
> 2011, she received a check from Villani for $1,080 and an explanation
> that the Musical Wonder House was able to sell one of the music boxes
> for $1,200. $120 was deducted in commission. She never heard from them
> again.
>
> "I'm 76 years old," Lannan told/The Lincoln County News/. "I don't have
> a lot of money. I was looking forward to paying the taxes on my house
> with the money they told me I would receive. I never would have tried to
> sell them [the music boxes] if I didn't need to."
>
> "This whole experience has left me feeling very angry," Lannan
> continued. "I feel empty and angry."
>
> Joseph Villani passed away Sept. 11, 2011, a short time after Lannan
> received a check from him. Carvalho, however, carried on until the doors
> of the Musical Wonder House were closed in 2014.
>
> Lannan is not the only customer jilted by the Musical Wonder House.
> According to a review left on tripadvisor.com on Oct. 7, 2014, a woman
> left an antique music box with Musical Wonder House for restoration. It
> disappeared when the business did.
>
> The Wiscasset Police Department, also, logged a call from a complainant
> the week of Sept. 29, 2014, stating that a music box left for
> restoration at a local business disappeared when the business closed. It
> is unclear if the caller was the same woman who left the review on
> tripadvisor.com, or if it is a separate case.
>
> According to Wiscasset town records, the property that housed the
> Musical Wonder House is still owned by the Danilo Konvalinka Trust. In
> 2013, it underwent a bank foreclosure, however, property taxes to the
> town are current, and are being paid by Nation Star Mortgage through an
> escrow account.
>
> Mortgage Contracting Services, a national company that is hired by
> mortgage lenders to provide property management services, is currently
> in charge of maintaining 16-18 High Street in Wiscasset.
>
> According to Whitepages.com, Paulo A. Carvalho still has a PO Box listed
> in his name in Wiscasset. It is, also, the same PO Box listed for the
> Danilo Konvalinka Trust./The Lincoln County News/was unable to contact
> Carvalho for comment.