There is a brand-new CD recording of the Akron Civic’s Mighty WurliTzer by a leading practitioner of the art, Jelani Eddington… I am listening to it as I type :)
Songs range from Leroy Anderson arrangements to “Totally Devoted To You” from Grease to Aaron Copland’s “Hoe-Down”, a fantastic recording!
That WurliTzer was sold to Oregon State University and installed in their sports arena, Gill Coliseum. There, the organ’s sound was swallowed up by the cavernous building, and it saw little use.
However, in June of this year, removal of the organ at the Coliseum for restoration and a RETURN to the Whiteside theatre!
The local chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society thought they were going to win the bidding, but they were trumped at the last second by some stranger, and the organ was his.
He had the organ shipped to Portland, and eventually the organ ended up in the Bob White building where this man lived in an upstairs apartment. A few other organs and various parts ended up there, too. The city of Portland has been trying for years to get this man out of there (Bob White building not zoned as a residence) for years, and news practically never gets out about this situation. The condition of the theatre, the organs, etc. are known by few if any people.
This theatre is now the home of one of the great mysteries of the theatre-organ world. Long story coming…
For me, this starts in the SF Bay Area, back around 1980. The fabulous Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco had been remodeled, and their large 4-manual theatre organ had been donated a few years earlier to a nearby school district for installation in their high school. This, unfortunately, never happened and the organ was put up for auction.
Last weekend, I went to hear top-rated Australian theatre organist Neil Jensen in concert at the Mt. Baker’s 2 manual, 12 rank Wurlitzer.
What an experience! Not only was Jensen terrific, but the organ sounded fantastic! This theatre has WONDERFUL acoustics for a theatre organ! In most places, a smallish 12 ranks would have trouble filling up such a large room, but not here! The organ sounds wonderfully warm and rich, and no detail is missed, a surprising thing for such a big room.
Also, this theatre is VERY much worth going to see the beautiful architecture, lovingly restored as stated above. No pictures can do the place justice!
Also, for those interested (like me) in theatre organs, the Mayan did indeed have a smallish Wurlitzer despite the fact that the theatre opened after the silent-movie era was over. The organ resided there from 1930-1945, when it was purchased by a private party and installed in their Denver home.
My girlfriend and I saw “March Of The Penguins” at the Mayan last week (great documentary, btw) in one of the little theatres made from the balcony. It was pretty nice, with Mayan-style decor as intact as possible. The former balcony made for nice “Stadium style” seating with a clear view for all. I’d guess there’s room for about 100-150 in each balcony theatre.
Afterwards, I got permission to pop into the main auditorium for a look. While I don’t normally appreciate “twinning” a classic movie palace, it was about as artfully done as possible at the Mayan! Instead of leaving a bare stucco wall over the front of the balcony like you might usually see, they did a solid decorating/finishing job.
I used to go to the Avenue back in the 70’s and early 80’s for the Friday night silent-movie programs. Didn’t go often… Hated the drive to SF, neighborhood was lousy, parking was non-existent, etc. Still, I should have gone more often! What a great little Cinema Treasure!
It had a 3-manual 14-rank Wurlitzer, with pipe-chambers installed on the stage, directly behind the screen, rather than the usual two chambers up on either side of the stage. I never knew why it was done this way, but it worked well.
My most vivid memory from there was a “Railroad Night” special they had one Friday. This drew a HUGE crowd, filling the Avenue to the rafters with died-in-the-wool train buffs.
There was a silent serial-type movie and a couple of early talkies, which the train buffs ate up, despite the fact the films were pretty poor.
THEN came the feature, “Danger Lights”, a corny-but-effective 1930 melodrama about a talented but careless young engineer, the “Old-Guard” railroad boss, and the young guy’s romance with the boss’s daughter.
Of course, the old boss didn’t approve of this romance, and did everything he could to stop it, mostly because the kid didn’t respect The Railroad. Slowly, the kid came around, but the boss didn’t buy into it until the kid came to the rescue, pulling the boss out of the way of a runaway engine. The boss was injured, but the kid had saved his life.
Later, the kid and the girl were visiting the old guy in the hospital, and he asked the crusty boss for permission to marry his girl. The boss let out a BIG sigh, and mustered the energy to rasp out: “Kid, you can have my girl… I’LL take The RAILROAD!!”
The theater ERUPTED with wildly cheering railfans! You’d think they’d won the World Series, the Super Bowl, the Lottery, and their very own locomotive, all at the same time!
That was quite an experience! Gotta love railbuffs…
Terrific! I’m a big theatre-organ enthusiast, and love the fact the original Wurlitzer will return to its home! I live in Oregon, and will certainly try to make my way down to Dunsmuir to check this baby out!
When I was a kid growing up in Concord, CA, I and my brothers used to go to the Enean nearly every week to see the latest Disney film. We saw things like “Charlie, The Lonesome Cougar”, “Follow Me, Boys”, “The Absent-Minded Professor” and many of the other Disney low-budget quickies that they used to make in the 50’s and 60’s to fund their much more expensive animated features. It was a childhood highlight.
Funny story about the Enean’s later life… It was still operating as a porn house when the Presbyterian church that stands directly behind it bought the place, intending to close it down so they could remodel it into a Christian youth center.
The church served an eviction notice to Pussycat, but they refused to leave. Several years of wrangling in the courts ensued before Pussycat was finally ousted, which meant that, for a few years, the church OWNED a porno house!
My mom belongs to this church, and I still needle her about it every once in awhile :)
Just looked at the “coming attractions” at the Castro website. Blech!
Even when I lived in the Bay Area, I rarely went to the Castro for a movie. It was fairly far away from me, and “art” films rarely interest me. VERY occasionally, there’d be a silent movie or organ concert, and THOSE I went to!
The Wurlitzer is wonderful, one of the most beautiful-sounding anywhere. The acoustics in the Castro are TERRIFIC for the organ!
Because I happen to personally know the people involved with that theatre organ, I was lucky enough to be able to make a few early-morning visits for impromptu mini-concerts. Those were truly special experiences that I will never forget.
How come such a wonderful 20’s movie palace as this, equipped with one of the world’s finest theatre organs, so rarely shows silent movies? Even back when I still lived in the Bay Area, silents were almost never shown, averaging maybe twice a year or so.
On those rare occasions, they drew large audiences. My favorite haunt since I moved to Oregon, the Elsinore Theatre in Salem, hosts maybe 20 silent-movie programs a year and THEY tend to draw large audiences, too. I think there’s an audience for this form of movie entertainment, and it’s largely untapped.
I can understand that silents are sometimes hard to acquire, and you have to pay an organist, etc., but come ON! These movie palaces are DESIGNED for the “flickers”! Let’s use them for their intended purposes already! Occasional silents are a great addition to a movie palace’s schedule.
I should also mention that most, if not all, of the pictures currently found on the Elsinore’s website are from BEFORE the completion of the theatre’s total restoration. It now looks brand-new inside, and as near as possible to the way it opened in 1926.
The theatre auditorium and lobby were both recently fully restored, and both look magnificent.
I was just there today (I live 25 miles North and visit often!) to see a concert on the mighty Wurlitzer by world-renowned classic and theatre organist Jonas Nordwall, and it was great!
Many silent-movie programs are scheduled from fall thru late spring, as well as classic talkies and live shows of all kinds.
There is a brand-new CD recording of the Akron Civic’s Mighty WurliTzer by a leading practitioner of the art, Jelani Eddington… I am listening to it as I type :)
Songs range from Leroy Anderson arrangements to “Totally Devoted To You” from Grease to Aaron Copland’s “Hoe-Down”, a fantastic recording!
rjeproductions.com is the place to get it online.
That WurliTzer was sold to Oregon State University and installed in their sports arena, Gill Coliseum. There, the organ’s sound was swallowed up by the cavernous building, and it saw little use.
However, in June of this year, removal of the organ at the Coliseum for restoration and a RETURN to the Whiteside theatre!
View link
Okay, so I didn’t exactly have the facts straight about who ran the porno house and the legal mumbo-jumbo around the whole deal…
I just find it humorous to find that a porno house was owned by a church :)
War agnosticism… Out! :)
The local chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society thought they were going to win the bidding, but they were trumped at the last second by some stranger, and the organ was his.
He had the organ shipped to Portland, and eventually the organ ended up in the Bob White building where this man lived in an upstairs apartment. A few other organs and various parts ended up there, too. The city of Portland has been trying for years to get this man out of there (Bob White building not zoned as a residence) for years, and news practically never gets out about this situation. The condition of the theatre, the organs, etc. are known by few if any people.
This theatre is now the home of one of the great mysteries of the theatre-organ world. Long story coming…
For me, this starts in the SF Bay Area, back around 1980. The fabulous Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco had been remodeled, and their large 4-manual theatre organ had been donated a few years earlier to a nearby school district for installation in their high school. This, unfortunately, never happened and the organ was put up for auction.
To be continued in next post…
Last weekend, I went to hear top-rated Australian theatre organist Neil Jensen in concert at the Mt. Baker’s 2 manual, 12 rank Wurlitzer.
What an experience! Not only was Jensen terrific, but the organ sounded fantastic! This theatre has WONDERFUL acoustics for a theatre organ! In most places, a smallish 12 ranks would have trouble filling up such a large room, but not here! The organ sounds wonderfully warm and rich, and no detail is missed, a surprising thing for such a big room.
Also, this theatre is VERY much worth going to see the beautiful architecture, lovingly restored as stated above. No pictures can do the place justice!
Here is a link about the theatre and its history, mostly related to the Wurlitzer theatre organ, but with other info also…
View link
Also, for those interested (like me) in theatre organs, the Mayan did indeed have a smallish Wurlitzer despite the fact that the theatre opened after the silent-movie era was over. The organ resided there from 1930-1945, when it was purchased by a private party and installed in their Denver home.
My girlfriend and I saw “March Of The Penguins” at the Mayan last week (great documentary, btw) in one of the little theatres made from the balcony. It was pretty nice, with Mayan-style decor as intact as possible. The former balcony made for nice “Stadium style” seating with a clear view for all. I’d guess there’s room for about 100-150 in each balcony theatre.
Afterwards, I got permission to pop into the main auditorium for a look. While I don’t normally appreciate “twinning” a classic movie palace, it was about as artfully done as possible at the Mayan! Instead of leaving a bare stucco wall over the front of the balcony like you might usually see, they did a solid decorating/finishing job.
They used a PIANO when they have a magificent THEATRE ORGAN (one of the finest, I might add) right there? What the heck are they THINKING???
I used to go to the Avenue back in the 70’s and early 80’s for the Friday night silent-movie programs. Didn’t go often… Hated the drive to SF, neighborhood was lousy, parking was non-existent, etc. Still, I should have gone more often! What a great little Cinema Treasure!
It had a 3-manual 14-rank Wurlitzer, with pipe-chambers installed on the stage, directly behind the screen, rather than the usual two chambers up on either side of the stage. I never knew why it was done this way, but it worked well.
My most vivid memory from there was a “Railroad Night” special they had one Friday. This drew a HUGE crowd, filling the Avenue to the rafters with died-in-the-wool train buffs.
There was a silent serial-type movie and a couple of early talkies, which the train buffs ate up, despite the fact the films were pretty poor.
THEN came the feature, “Danger Lights”, a corny-but-effective 1930 melodrama about a talented but careless young engineer, the “Old-Guard” railroad boss, and the young guy’s romance with the boss’s daughter.
Of course, the old boss didn’t approve of this romance, and did everything he could to stop it, mostly because the kid didn’t respect The Railroad. Slowly, the kid came around, but the boss didn’t buy into it until the kid came to the rescue, pulling the boss out of the way of a runaway engine. The boss was injured, but the kid had saved his life.
Later, the kid and the girl were visiting the old guy in the hospital, and he asked the crusty boss for permission to marry his girl. The boss let out a BIG sigh, and mustered the energy to rasp out: “Kid, you can have my girl… I’LL take The RAILROAD!!”
The theater ERUPTED with wildly cheering railfans! You’d think they’d won the World Series, the Super Bowl, the Lottery, and their very own locomotive, all at the same time!
That was quite an experience! Gotta love railbuffs…
Terrific! I’m a big theatre-organ enthusiast, and love the fact the original Wurlitzer will return to its home! I live in Oregon, and will certainly try to make my way down to Dunsmuir to check this baby out!
When I was a kid growing up in Concord, CA, I and my brothers used to go to the Enean nearly every week to see the latest Disney film. We saw things like “Charlie, The Lonesome Cougar”, “Follow Me, Boys”, “The Absent-Minded Professor” and many of the other Disney low-budget quickies that they used to make in the 50’s and 60’s to fund their much more expensive animated features. It was a childhood highlight.
Funny story about the Enean’s later life… It was still operating as a porn house when the Presbyterian church that stands directly behind it bought the place, intending to close it down so they could remodel it into a Christian youth center.
The church served an eviction notice to Pussycat, but they refused to leave. Several years of wrangling in the courts ensued before Pussycat was finally ousted, which meant that, for a few years, the church OWNED a porno house!
My mom belongs to this church, and I still needle her about it every once in awhile :)
Just looked at the “coming attractions” at the Castro website. Blech!
Even when I lived in the Bay Area, I rarely went to the Castro for a movie. It was fairly far away from me, and “art” films rarely interest me. VERY occasionally, there’d be a silent movie or organ concert, and THOSE I went to!
The Wurlitzer is wonderful, one of the most beautiful-sounding anywhere. The acoustics in the Castro are TERRIFIC for the organ!
Because I happen to personally know the people involved with that theatre organ, I was lucky enough to be able to make a few early-morning visits for impromptu mini-concerts. Those were truly special experiences that I will never forget.
How come such a wonderful 20’s movie palace as this, equipped with one of the world’s finest theatre organs, so rarely shows silent movies? Even back when I still lived in the Bay Area, silents were almost never shown, averaging maybe twice a year or so.
On those rare occasions, they drew large audiences. My favorite haunt since I moved to Oregon, the Elsinore Theatre in Salem, hosts maybe 20 silent-movie programs a year and THEY tend to draw large audiences, too. I think there’s an audience for this form of movie entertainment, and it’s largely untapped.
I can understand that silents are sometimes hard to acquire, and you have to pay an organist, etc., but come ON! These movie palaces are DESIGNED for the “flickers”! Let’s use them for their intended purposes already! Occasional silents are a great addition to a movie palace’s schedule.
I should also mention that most, if not all, of the pictures currently found on the Elsinore’s website are from BEFORE the completion of the theatre’s total restoration. It now looks brand-new inside, and as near as possible to the way it opened in 1926.
This is a WONDERFUL theatre! Anyone who visits the Northwest and likes movie palaces should make sure to visit.
Website: www.elsinoretheatre.com
The theatre auditorium and lobby were both recently fully restored, and both look magnificent.
I was just there today (I live 25 miles North and visit often!) to see a concert on the mighty Wurlitzer by world-renowned classic and theatre organist Jonas Nordwall, and it was great!
Many silent-movie programs are scheduled from fall thru late spring, as well as classic talkies and live shows of all kinds.
Check the website for info, history and the like.