Thanks for the info on the Central UMC Moller – I knew it was in the
40s rank count but didn’t remember the exact number. As to my mention above of the “theatre/orchestral” sound – it came about from
local organ lore that Grace Marney, who was organist when the Wurlitzer was installed, told Moller that she wanted an organ that sounded just like the Wurlitzer – don’t think that completely happened but the Moller there is, never-the-less, unique.
Also Tim, regarding the need for restoration of the Moller – I’m the
Regional Representative for the Reuter Organ Company of Lawrence, KS and I cover all of Tennessee, Kentucky and southwest Virginia for them and I’m based and live here in Knoxville and I’m organist at
Mt. Harmony Baptist in east Knox County. I would be glad to bring
some info about Reuter by the church for you to look over – send
me a note at and I’ll give you a bit
more info on Reuter and our work.
Regarding the Riviera Wurlitzers – According to Junchen’s book
on Wurlitzer the first Riviera Wurlitzer was a Style 160
2/6 opus 355 dated 10/14/1920. You’re correct on the second
Riviera Wurlitzer – it was a Style EX 2/7 opus 1357 dated
06/09/1926. Info from Junchen also matches the Peter Beams
list from Theatreorgans.com and his info may be based on
the Judd Walton Wurlitzer Manual from the 1970s.
Opus 1357 was given to Central United Methodist Church over on
3rd Avenue in the mid 1930s, possibly 1936, and it was used at
the church until the current Moller organ was installed.
Grace Marney, who was organist at Central when 1357 was installed,
told Moller (organ lore here) that she wanted an organ that sounded
just like the Wurlitzer which may explain the more orchestral/
theatre like sound of that organ.
Knoxville, as far as we know, has been home to only three Wurlitzers
– two at the Riviera and one at the Tennessee which we’re so very
fortunate to still have and it’s always a joy to play and has a
stunning sound in the restored room. The only other theatre with
an organ that we know of was the old Lyric (Staub’s Opera House)
which was directly across the street from the Bijou and it housed
a Moller from 1916 and I believe it may have been a 3 manual
installation – I’ve got that info from the Moller factory somewhere
in my files but not in front of me as I write this post. I've
also got a photo of the Lyric auditorium from the stage and you
can see the organ grill coverings on each side of the arch.
A final interesting note on the Riviera Wurlitzers is that, according to local organ lore, 1357 supposedly had a straight
back console (example would be the Schantz console at 1st Bapt.)
however, I’ve never been able to confirm that piece of info. It's
my understanding that when 1357 was removed for the Moller that
the console went to someone local who gutted it and
used it for an electronic organ of some kind – again not sure
on this – most of this may be just “hearsay” or “organ lore”.
Wurlitzer did build and use straight back consoles to some degree
but most theatre Wurlitzers used the “horse shoe” design though
there were exceptions.
September 5, 2007
Tim,
Thanks for the info on the Central UMC Moller – I knew it was in the
40s rank count but didn’t remember the exact number. As to my mention above of the “theatre/orchestral” sound – it came about from
local organ lore that Grace Marney, who was organist when the Wurlitzer was installed, told Moller that she wanted an organ that sounded just like the Wurlitzer – don’t think that completely happened but the Moller there is, never-the-less, unique.
Also Tim, regarding the need for restoration of the Moller – I’m the
Regional Representative for the Reuter Organ Company of Lawrence, KS and I cover all of Tennessee, Kentucky and southwest Virginia for them and I’m based and live here in Knoxville and I’m organist at
Mt. Harmony Baptist in east Knox County. I would be glad to bring
some info about Reuter by the church for you to look over – send
me a note at and I’ll give you a bit
more info on Reuter and our work.
Thanks much!!
Randall Maynard
Knoxville,TN
August 10, 2007
Will,
Regarding the Riviera Wurlitzers – According to Junchen’s book
on Wurlitzer the first Riviera Wurlitzer was a Style 160
2/6 opus 355 dated 10/14/1920. You’re correct on the second
Riviera Wurlitzer – it was a Style EX 2/7 opus 1357 dated
06/09/1926. Info from Junchen also matches the Peter Beams
list from Theatreorgans.com and his info may be based on
the Judd Walton Wurlitzer Manual from the 1970s.
Opus 1357 was given to Central United Methodist Church over on
3rd Avenue in the mid 1930s, possibly 1936, and it was used at
the church until the current Moller organ was installed.
Grace Marney, who was organist at Central when 1357 was installed,
told Moller (organ lore here) that she wanted an organ that sounded
just like the Wurlitzer which may explain the more orchestral/
theatre like sound of that organ.
Knoxville, as far as we know, has been home to only three Wurlitzers
– two at the Riviera and one at the Tennessee which we’re so very
fortunate to still have and it’s always a joy to play and has a
stunning sound in the restored room. The only other theatre with
an organ that we know of was the old Lyric (Staub’s Opera House)
which was directly across the street from the Bijou and it housed
a Moller from 1916 and I believe it may have been a 3 manual
installation – I’ve got that info from the Moller factory somewhere
in my files but not in front of me as I write this post. I've
also got a photo of the Lyric auditorium from the stage and you
can see the organ grill coverings on each side of the arch.
A final interesting note on the Riviera Wurlitzers is that, according to local organ lore, 1357 supposedly had a straight
back console (example would be the Schantz console at 1st Bapt.)
however, I’ve never been able to confirm that piece of info. It's
my understanding that when 1357 was removed for the Moller that
the console went to someone local who gutted it and
used it for an electronic organ of some kind – again not sure
on this – most of this may be just “hearsay” or “organ lore”.
Wurlitzer did build and use straight back consoles to some degree
but most theatre Wurlitzers used the “horse shoe” design though
there were exceptions.