First jukebox installed at the Palais Royale Saloon, San Francisco

Background. A jukebox is defined as a partially automated, coin-operated music-playing device that plays user-selected songs from a self-contained media library. The specific device installed in 1889 was an early iteration of this concept, relying on phonograph technology. While modern jukeboxes use digital files or discs, the 1889 installation represented the mechanical reproduction of sound for public entertainment, distinct from later 20th-century models found in diners and bars.

Installation. The nickel-in-the-slot phonograph was invented by Louis T. Arnold and installed at the Palais Royal Saloon, located at 303 Sutter Street in San Francisco. This location was situated two blocks away from the offices of the Pacific Phonograph Company. The installation is dated to 1889; the supplied passages do not record a specific day or month, so the exact date remains unsourced.

Technology. The device functioned as a coin-operated entertainment phonograph, specifically identified as the Nickel-in-the-Slot. It utilized the principles of the Edison phonograph, which records sound vibrations as physical deviations in a groove on a rotating cylinder or disc. The playback mechanism involved a stylus tracing these grooves to reproduce the recorded sound, forming the basis for the automated music-playing experience.