Theatre Organs: A Short History
I'm listening to all of these beautiful songs played on theatre organs and I can't help but wonder how many of these wonderful instruments were demolished in the name of "progress."
The theatre organ was installed in movie theatres across the United States back in the day of the silent movie. Each movie came with a soundtrack, but very often, that soundtrack was meant to be played by an orchestra in the pit of each movie house, but orchestras were expensive and had to be paid by the week.
That was when a man named Robert Hope-Jones came up with a wonderful idea that he called the "Unit Orchestra." The unit orchestra, or theatre organ, was a one-time payout, and that made it a wise investment. More places wanted to install a theatre organ than pay for an orchestra week after week. Modeled on a pipe organ, the unit orchestra had controls for almost every voice in the orchestra. It could control percussion and piano, bells and whistles, and of course the traditional pipe organ sound. All of the instruments were powered by an air compressor deep inside the theatre building, and each installation was custom fit to the theatre it was ordered by.
Click to viewJust like the buildings themselves, the theatre organ was a work of art. They were often covered in beautiful scrollwork, gilded and painted in intricate curls. The artisans took pride in their work and it showed in every inch of the organ console.
For years, the theatre organ, usually built by the Wurlitzer company and called the Mighty Wurlitzer, was the voice of the American movie theatre. Any sounds the movie called for, the organ could do. Sweet, soft music for romantic scenes, or the train whistles when the helpless ingenue was tied to the track.
Unfortunately, the advent of the unit orchestra was soon followed by World War I. Materials were needed for the fight, and many organs were scrapped, their pipes given to the war effort. And then, in 1927, the first talking movie was shown just before the Great Depression. The market for theatre organs dried up and many were forgotten along with the theatres that they used to fill with beautiful music.
Bit by bit, people have been rediscovering the magic of the theatre organ, fueled by the discovery of Mighty Wurlitzers in theatres that have been marked for restoration. Now, most of these newly-discovered organs are seen as the works of art that they are, though many have been taken from the theatre they were built for. Some now exist in private homes (lucky homeowners) and others are being restored to go back into the theatres they were taken from.
If you have the opportunity to hear one of these amazing instruments, please do. These were the technological marvels of their day and still are in so many ways. These are a natural treasure, and one we're still in the process of discovering.