Absolutely awesome! Takes me back to the old Paramount Music Palace in Indy and my old high school where I helped to restore, maintain and expand the Wurlitzer we had. Well done!

What fun! Nice to see a grand old instrument preserved like this. Misty was beautiful! Thanks for posting.

oh my..we're practically neighbors....gonna put this on my bucket list of things to see and do....

I wish I knew how to play the organ period but listening to that type of theatre style organ is very unique and splended

oh God amazing, I love the theater organ! an electronix organ will never match the sound and Love those tibias! and the percussion!

I read the owner Mr. Bartlow passed away recently. This house should be on the news about a house with a pipe organ for sale

Reeds can be tested om.a ttuning bench and yes you can upgrade the cable similar to the old office phone line

My 1946 WURLITZER series 31 ELECTROSTATIC KEYED-REED organ has the same black bundles of wire. And interestingly the keys on the ( standard organ console of 61 keys) is actually numbered from 88 downward to equal 61 keys total per manual. So makes me wonder if Wurlitzer didn't use piano keys on these first non-Wurlitzer PIPE organs. In WWII, Wurlitzer's Tonawanda factory ( Niagara Falls), where all of the THEATER ORGANS ( JUKEBOX AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS) were made, was converted to make bombs for the war effort. Coming out of WWII the demand had already waned for theater pipe organs ( the only organs Wurlitzer made were the 'mighty' theater and residential pipe organs), so Wurlitzer decided to attempt to create a 'portable' organ to compete with the ubiquitous success of the Hammond Tone Wheel organ invented in 1935 by the inventor and owner of the Hammond Clock Company, Laurens Hammond. The Hammond organ was everywhere! So Wurlitzer bought the patent for the electrostatic reed organ design from the EVERETTE PIANO AND ORGAN CO. near wars end, and began making WURLITZER ORGATRONS. Where Hammond organs used an electromagnetic principle, Wurlitzer used a capacitive discharge method. Hammond still stayed king of the 400 lb 'portable' organ market because what came with the 'Hammond Sound' was INSTANTANEOUS ATTACK. That is, when a key was depressed the sound was instant due to the fact that all of the tone wheels were electrically active at all times, just separated from audibility by the electric contact of the keying contact switches ( 9 per key to correspond to the 9 tone draw bars). The Wurlitzer KEYED-REED method only allowed the tone source ( the reed) to become audible as air was permitted into the reed's air chamber, which was after a key was depressed. This 'attack onset' was ultra fast, but not instant. In fact, as one who is restoring one of these electrostatic keyed-reed Wurlitzer models, I can attest to the rapidity of how the reeds come to life when a key is depressed. I can 'trill' a key playing 64th notes ( very fast), and each note is captured! Yes that instant. However, electricity is the speed of light, and the Hammond attested to what musicality is gained due to this. Something no other organ up to then could achieve was that instantaneous response and it's tonal phenomena therein. Enter the 1953' WURLITZER "CONTINUOUS ELECTROSTATIC FREE-REED" ORGAN. The 46'-53' 'KEYED-REED' organs were completely redesigned ( and the 'Orgatron' title dropped). Now all reeds were acoustically soundproofed better, because ALL REEDS PLAYED CONTINUOUSLY. Now Wurlitzer could compete with the success of the Hammond Tone Wheel Organ. It's not that there was no place for the former keyed-reed designs. Actually the non-instant attack of these organs closer mimicked the slower (still) onset of a real pipe organ. The original literature for the original keyed reed design marketed the organ for every avenue that a Hammond could be used at...so as an owner of such a rare instrument I am eager to play such a model with a snappier 'staccato' attack ( not unlike a piano, or Hammond organ for that matter). Seems that the ONLY Keyed-Reed models demonstrated on KZfaq are played by classical players who not dare 'attack' the keys in such a manner. So finally I will be able to demonstrate the attack capabilities of these earlier instruments. I can't even find a record Lp or 78rpm record of ANYONE playing a KEYED-REED WURLITZER! Sadly, the success of the CONTINUOUS FREE-REED models was eclipsed by the incredible success of the all-new HAMMOND B3 ( C3 and RT3) introduced the following year. These models had 'KEY PERCUSSION'. This allowed a preliminary attack of a single tone to accompany the notes played. Suddenly the Hammond organ was king of kings! It could play with DYNAMICS on demand. Thus the era of the jazz Hammond was born. Also, popular music thrived with the more dynamic Hammond sound. Wurlitzer couldn't catch a break! Regardless, if you listen to KEN GRIFFIN playing on CRUISING DOWN THE RIVER, ANNIVERSARY SONGS, SKATING TIME, and 67 MELODY LANE, you can hear what is undoubtedly the 'other greatest sounding/playing/feeling' organ ever made, but forgotten about. As a player who has owned and played every possible organ design ever made, by far the ELECTROMECHANICAL TONE GENERATION methods of the HAMMOND TONE WHEEL ORGAN and the WURLITZER ELECTROSTATIC REED ORGAN, well they can't be touched by ANY other design. Before, nor after. ELECTROMECHANICAL TONE GENERATION is as close to REAL as the FEEL gets when it comes to organ design. Listen to those Ken Griffin records and you will begin to understand. If you are a Hammond B3 listening fan, then you already know this. Just don't forget about Hammonds ONLY true relative- the WURLITZER ELECTROSTATIC REED ORGAN 1946-1963. SAVE THEM!

What a treat.

Love it.

I want one but don't have the room for it.

L'orgue de cinéma c'est le plus beau des orgues. Il a un très jolie son quand il vibre avec ses registres spéciales.

And I can't even fit an electric one in my house

Never blow on a reed... or reuse cotton covered cable.