I have written about the Royal Grand and Marion’s other theaters in my new book, “The Harmonious Echo: The Life and Times of the Barley Memorial Organ,” which is available from amazon. com.
My research showed that the Royal Grand was indeed operated by the Spurrs. Howard’s older brother, Alan, was the first organist there when they installed a Schuelke organ in 1914. In 1922, they replaced this organ with a Wurlitzer which was advertised as costing $5,000. In 1925, the fire apparently destroyed the Wurlitzer, and the Royal Grand installed a $22,000 4-manual Page pipe organ. This organ was only used for three years. In 1929 or 1930, the theater was closed. My best guess is that, being the smallest house in their group of theaters, management decided that they couldn’t afford to do the upgrades for sound. According to the local newspaper, the theater sat largely unused until about 1941, when it was demolished. When it was torn down the organ was still in playable condition. Tragic. During the years it was closed, the newspaper reported that it was only opened occasionally for boxing matches and other such events. By the time it was demolished, there were no seats remaining in the building.
The theater was started in 1895 as the Allen Opera House on the second floor of the building. In 1914 the building was either replaced or remodeled, and the theater moved to the ground floor. This was also the time when they changed over from a legitimate theater, vaudeville, and burlesque house to a movie house.
I found some really fascinating stuff about the Marion theaters, and particularly their organs. The Lyric had a Moller. The Royal Grand had a series of 3 pipe organs, starting in 1914. The last one, built in 1925, was a 4-manual Page organ (same company as the one at the Embassy in Fort Wayne), that was only used for 3 years before the theater was closed with the advent of talkies.
I wrote all this up in my new book, “The Harmonious Echo: The Life and Times of the Barley Memorial Organ,” which is available from Amazon.com. What I could not find was a photo of the Royal Grand Theater in Marion. If anybody has one, I would love to get a scan of it.
And, yes, the Luna-Lite was across the street from the Lyric. The Luna-Lite had a reputation for having really excellent promotional art in the lobby – all locally produced.
I have written about the Royal Grand and Marion’s other theaters in my new book, “The Harmonious Echo: The Life and Times of the Barley Memorial Organ,” which is available from amazon. com.
Joe, Thanks for the info.
My research showed that the Royal Grand was indeed operated by the Spurrs. Howard’s older brother, Alan, was the first organist there when they installed a Schuelke organ in 1914. In 1922, they replaced this organ with a Wurlitzer which was advertised as costing $5,000. In 1925, the fire apparently destroyed the Wurlitzer, and the Royal Grand installed a $22,000 4-manual Page pipe organ. This organ was only used for three years. In 1929 or 1930, the theater was closed. My best guess is that, being the smallest house in their group of theaters, management decided that they couldn’t afford to do the upgrades for sound. According to the local newspaper, the theater sat largely unused until about 1941, when it was demolished. When it was torn down the organ was still in playable condition. Tragic. During the years it was closed, the newspaper reported that it was only opened occasionally for boxing matches and other such events. By the time it was demolished, there were no seats remaining in the building.
The theater was started in 1895 as the Allen Opera House on the second floor of the building. In 1914 the building was either replaced or remodeled, and the theater moved to the ground floor. This was also the time when they changed over from a legitimate theater, vaudeville, and burlesque house to a movie house.
I found some really fascinating stuff about the Marion theaters, and particularly their organs. The Lyric had a Moller. The Royal Grand had a series of 3 pipe organs, starting in 1914. The last one, built in 1925, was a 4-manual Page organ (same company as the one at the Embassy in Fort Wayne), that was only used for 3 years before the theater was closed with the advent of talkies.
I wrote all this up in my new book, “The Harmonious Echo: The Life and Times of the Barley Memorial Organ,” which is available from Amazon.com. What I could not find was a photo of the Royal Grand Theater in Marion. If anybody has one, I would love to get a scan of it.
And, yes, the Luna-Lite was across the street from the Lyric. The Luna-Lite had a reputation for having really excellent promotional art in the lobby – all locally produced.
Does anyone know if the Estey theater organ that was installed in the Princess Theater in Bloomington, IN, is still there?