A 126-year-old piece of American history is coming back to the streets of Boston for the first time in 51 years. The barrel grinder piano was bought by Marino Persechini in New York City after he immigrated there from Italy in 1899, bringing it with him when he moved to Boston the same year. Persechini supported his family by playing it on the streets of Boston, until he retired in 1974 at age 94. “He was out there almost every day during the busy season,” said new owner Beverly resident Tony Gangi, an adjunct professor at North Shore Community College and proprietor of Great American Street Organ, an organization devoted to preserving the tradition of organ grinding. Tony and his wife Suzanne recently acquired the barrel grinder piano and had it restored. READ THE COMPLETE STORY HERE. Learn more about Great American Street Organ HERE.