|
The "Unit Orchestra" During the early part of the silent
film era, motion picture theatres throughout the country engaged pit
orchestras and pianists to provide background music and effects for their
stage shows and motions pictures. Because of the rising costs of musicians
in orchestras, many theatres found it necessary to cut back,
About this time, an Englishman, Robert Hope-Jones, who was an electrical engineer by trade, developed a method of "electrifying" the pipe organ. This allowed the console of the organ to be placed at any position away from the pipes themselves. Hope-Jones envisioned an orchestral organ capable of all the sounds and percussions of the modern orchestra. This was quite unlike the customary voicing of the church organ. Upon arriving in the U.S., Hope-Jones convinced some investors to support his idea of the "Unit Orchestra." Later he joined with the Wurlitzer Company of North Tonawanda, New York, and the term the "Mighty Wurlitzer" became a household name.
During the late teens and early twenties, movie theaters both large and small installed theatre pipe organs. However with the appearance of the sound movies, the need for theatre organs diminished and most of them fell into disrepair through lack of use. Many were left silent in the orchestra pit never to sound again. But the theatre organ of the Paramount
Theatre in Oakland California was only beginning an increasingly exciting
and long life story. Installed in 1931 at a price of $20,000 this Mighty
Wurlitzer enjoyed only a brief period of glory before the theatre closed
in 1932.
Originally the organ was the last in the series of 17 identical instruments built for the large Publix movie houses in a style designated as "Publix No.1." This style was of 4 manuals (keyboards) and 20 ranks (or sets) of pipes. A total redesign of the organ was made in 1978 increasing the number of ranks to 42. The Art Deco style console (of which Wurlitzer built only 10) had floral motifs on the sides and the "waterfall" cap pieces on the top. The coloration of the console was changed in 1978 from the original gold to ebony with the Art Deco designs being highlighted in Gold, Bronze, Copper and Silver Leaf. The organ is powered by a 20 horsepower Spencer Blower which supplies air for the 3,000 organ pipes and percussions. Most are located outside of the organ chambers. The volume of the organ is controlled by the "shutters" above the glass pipe windows, which allow the sound to project into the restaurant. The burgundy-colored tube-looking line around the restaurant are the wind lines that carry the wind from the blower to the instruments.
Specifications • Organists and Performance Hours Watch a video clip – purchase a DVD Listen to audio clips – purchase a CD
|
often
to just a pianist for performances.
The
"Mighty Wurlitzer"
By
the late 1950's, the organ was sold and placed in storage. Around 1960 it
was installed in its first restaurant venue, 'Ken Melody's Inn' in Los
Altos, California, where it remained until purchased for the Paramount
Music Palace in Indianapolis. At this point, it was greatly enlarged and
rebuilt by the Crome Organ Company. Upon the Indianapolis restaurant's
closure in 1995, it was purchased to be installed in a musical museum in
Germany.
When
plans for this fell through, it was purchased for use in the Roaring 20s
Pizza and Pipes. 
SOUND EXPERIENCE!