The Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ - restoed in McKinney, TX.

The Birth of the Theatre Pipe Organ
In the early decades of the last century, the silent cinema became a main stay of entertainment for Americans. The 1920s, saw the creation of Motion Picture Palaces in all major cities' downtown areas and smaller, yet still palatial, theatres in the outlying neighborhoods. In the "Nickelodeon" (early) days of the silent screen dramas, a sole piano player would provide suitable musical accompaniment to the action on the screen. As the new entertainment industry grew, so did the need for a more suitable method of accompanying the silent films, newsreels and stage acts in the larger, cavernous movie palaces. Many of the major Motion Picture Palaces employed orchestras, but it wasn't feasible to use an orchestra for every performance. The theatre pipe organ or "Unit Orchestra" was developed to allow for one musician to provide the music for all the theatres' needs.

At the MPAC
The Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ being restored for the McKinney Performing Arts Center (MPAC) dates back to the late 1920s. There are only a very few remaining complete theatre organs of moderate size as is needed for the MPAC. The North Texas Chapter (NTC) of the American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS) has been acquiring carefully selected components over a period of years to create the instrument that will be a permanent fixture in the Courtroom Theatre. Over the past year, members of the NTC have been volunteering their time and talents to assist Dallas Organ Works, LLC in the restoration and building of the organ.

The core of the MPAC Mighty Wurlitzer comes from the Poncan Theatre in Ponca City, Oklahoma. This modest Wurlitzer was a Style (model) 190 instrument. That is, it was a 2-manual (keyboard) organ consisting of 8-ranks (sets) of pipes plus tuned percussion instruments, traps and special effects. The organ's Opus (serial) number was 1632 and it was shipped from the Wurlitzer Factory in North Tonawanda, New York on December 5, 1927. In 1946, Mr. Paul Williamson of Oklahoma City acquired the organ and it became the basis for the pipe organ installation in his home. The organ remained in Mr. Williamson's home until 2004, when, after his death, the organ was acquired to become the nucleus for the "new" Wurlitzer for the MPAC.

Restoration
The NTC set forth to design an instrument that will be musically complete and well-balanced for the MPAC Courtroom Theatre. It was decided that the organ would be expanded from eight to 17 ranks of pipes, and that a 3-manual console would be required.

A suitable console in extremely poor condition was found and secured. The console was dismantled to its smallest component parts and restored from the base up to the top of the capitals. The console is an original Wurlitzer from the First Baptist Church in Dothan, Alabama. The organ was Opus Number 2071, and the organ shipped from the Wurlitzer Factory on September 25, 1929.

The saga of the console restoration was complicated. All of the walnut veneer was coming loose and there were many component parts of the console missing. The console also was styled to fit an ecclesiastical rather than theatrical setting. The console has been restyled to a more theatrical set of lines. The console case has been totally re-veneered with beautiful walnut veneer, stained and finished to compliment the wood finish in the restored courtroom. Missing components have been recreated by the skilled craftsmen of Dallas Organ Works, LLC. The 183 keys have been restored with new "ivories" and ebonies. The 32 pedals have been restored. All of the nearly 200 stop keys and the action behind each of the stop keys are new.

A theatre organ is like an ice berg in that the audience only sees the console on the stage. The console is merely the control center that activates several tons of equipment installed in the pipe chambers.

The Magic Inside
There are two chambers on the third floor containing all the pipes, tuned percussion instruments, traps (drums, cymbals, castanets, etc.) and special effects.

Facing the stage, the right hand chamber is the Solo Chamber. In addition to the ranks of pipes listed, there are the following tuned percussion instruments: Marimba, Xylophone, Glockenspiel, Cathedral Chimes. In the Main Chamber, on the left, there is another tuned percussion instrument; the Chrysoglott Harp; a sound much like a Celesta in an orchestra. These are the real instruments, each bar being struck by pneumatically driven hammers.

Also in the Solo Chamber, the "Toy Counter" is found. This is where the non-tuned percussions and the special effects of the organ are located.

There is to be a total of 1,241 pipes in the organ ranging in size from over 16 feet in length to smaller than a soda straw. There are 197 total bars of tuned percussion notes, 10 Special Effects and 14 Traps.

Additionally, on the third floor, to the right of the Solo Chamber is the Blower Room. In this room there are two blowers with an aggregate of 10 Horsepower. These two blowers generate the high pressure wind (air) that makes every sound you hear. There are no speakers, amplifiers or electronics generating any sound heard from the Mighty Wurlitzer.

Special thanks goes to the North Texas Chapter (NTC) of the American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS) and Dallas Organ Works, LLC for their tireless efforts and contributions to the MPAC!

The table below shows the layout and components of the organ.

About the North Texas Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society (NTC-ATOS)  

When interest in theatre organs was revived in the 1950s, an organ enthusiast, Richard Simonton in California, and others started the American Theatre Organ Enthusiasts (ATOE) at a charter meeting February 8, 1955.  From that, other groups across the United States formed, and in the early 1960s, a Dallas organization evolved called the Theatre Organ Association of Dallas (TOAD).  On June 1, 1968 the club reorganized and became known as the North Texas Chapter of American Theatre Organ Enthusiasts (NTC-ATOE).  In 1970 when the National organization became the American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS), and the local group applied for a charter and became part of the renamed national organization.  By January of 1976, the group was given 501(c)(3) non-profit status.

 A more complete history of the American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS) and the history of the Theatre Pipe Organ can be found at the ATOS website: http://www.atos.org/ The North Texas Chapter has a website as well: http://www.ntc-atos.org/

The chief purposes and goals of the NTC-ATOS are:  To restore, maintain, and preserve theatre pipe organs and to promote the theatre organ and its music.  This non-profit organization brings together people who enjoy good organ music, whether or not they own or play an instrument!

Through the 1980s the Chapter met in private homes where there were theatre organs and held fund raising marathons.  Other special events were held and a few organs were donated or purchased with the goal to install them in any remaining large theatres and/or other suitable venues in the Metroplex area. 

In the 1980s an opportunity arose for this goal and after much discussion, the NTC's restored a 3-Manual, 8-Rank Robert-Morton was placed in the Lakewood Theatre in 1984 when it was re-opened. 

The Robert-Morton theatre organ was originally from Dallas' Old Mill Theatre which, until the theatre's demolition, was located on Elm Street in downtown Dallas.

In 1994, when the Lakewood Theatre closed again, the Chapter continued meeting at private homes, music stores, and occasionally at the theatre itself.  New management took over the Lakewood in 1996.

The Chapter presented programs and silent films accompanied by the Robert-Morton. The public was able to come and enjoy real theatre organ in the real theatre setting it was designed for. 

In January of 2001, failure of the Lakewood Theatre's sump pump resulted in the flooding of the subterranean pit where the console of the organ resided on its elevating lift platform. The console was severely damaged by the water. It was a Herculean task of eight months of work to restore the console. The original 1920's vintage lift was damaged beyond repair and a new hydraulic lift system was installed.

The organ played, once again, to the delight of audiences until 2002 when, once again, the sump pump failed, flooding the console and lift, even deeper this time.

The NTC realized that the theatre's infrastructure was deteriorating and that the organ was in peril. The decision was made to remove the organ from the Lakewood Theatre and place it in safe, dry storage until a new, suitable and safe home could be found in Dallas. This instrument was in the process of being expanded in size and will, when installed in a new home, will be doubled to 16-ranks.

The Chapter also continues to host meetings and open concerts in members' homes and other local venues where organs are located.