UPDATE TO STORY March 2021
For years, I had wondered if any of these fantastic stage cranes were left. The only one I knew of was in The UK, but just last week, someone sent me this photo of a 30B in Milwaukee.
That I know of, this is the only one left in the US and it’s on display at Robert Paquett’s Microphone Museum…along with a mind blowing collection of very rare antique equipment from radio and television. This crane once belonged to WTMJ in Milwaukee, but before that, it had belonged to a Hollywood film studio.
Just last year, my friend who owns Atlanta’s biggest movie prop house managed to buy this great 30B crane and not has it at his HQ. Take a look at some of his great camera collection!
https://www.rjrprops.com/cameras–news-studio.html
There are a very few still on display in Australia, in Sydney and Melbourne. There was also an ex Sydney Sanner/HF crane in Brisbane.
I’m more interested in the Mole Richardson mic boom. I wish I could afford to add to my mic collection some of what Bob has in his.
Check out the TK-60 right there on the front end of the crane . . . .
I think we had one at WTTW that came from the old Wilding Studios. Wilding was the biggest studio between the coasts and produced miles and miles of, mostly industrial, film for decades.
I’ve been there and seen it. It does exist!!! Seeing Bob’s collection is easily worth the price of a round trip airline ticket!
I thought I saw one on display at Debbie Reynold’s Hollywood memorabilia museum in Las Vegas many years ago…