When interest in theatre organs was revived in the 1950s, an organ enthusiast, Richard Simonton in California, and others started the American Theatre Organ Enthusiasts (ATOE) at a charter meeting February 8, 1955. The North Texas Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society Special thanks goes to the North Texas Chapter (NTC) of the American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS) and Dallas Organ Works, LLC for their tireless efforts and contributions to the MPAC! Layout & Components of the Organ Main Chamber (Left) There are no speakers, amplifiers or electronics generating any sound heard from the Mighty Wurlitzer. These two blowers generate the high pressure wind that makes every sound you hear. In this room are two blowers with an aggregate of 10 horsepower. There are 197 total bars of tuned percussion notes, 10 Special Effects and 14 Traps.Īdditionally, on the third floor, to the right of the Solo Chamber is the Blower Room. There are 1,241 pipes in the organ ranging in size from more than 16 feet in length to smaller than a soda straw. This is where the non-tuned percussions and the special effects of the organ are located. These are the real instruments, and each bar is struck by pneumatically driven hammers.Īlso in the Solo Chamber, the "Toy Counter" is found. It has a sound much like a Celesta in an orchestra.
In the Main Chamber, on the left, there is another tuned percussion instrument: the Chrysoglott Harp. In addition to the ranks of pipes listed, there are the following tuned percussion instruments: Marimba, Xylophone, Glockenspiel and Cathedral Chimes. There are two chambers on MPAC’s third floor containing all the pipes, tuned percussion instruments, traps (drums, cymbals, castanets, etc.) and special effects.įacing the stage, the chamber to the right is the Solo Chamber. The console is merely the control center that activates several tons of equipment installed in the pipe chambers. All of the nearly 200 stop keys and the action behind each of the stop keys are new.Ī theatre organ is like an iceberg in that the audience only sees the console on the stage. The 183 keys have been restored with new "ivories" and ebonies. Missing components were recreated by the skilled craftsmen of Dallas Organ Works, LLC. The console case has been totally re-veneered with beautiful walnut veneer, stained and finished to compliment the wood finish in the restored courtroom. The console has been restyled to a more theatrical set of lines. The console also was styled to fit an ecclesiastical rather than theatrical setting. All of the walnut veneer was coming loose and there were many component parts of the console missing. The saga of the console restoration was complicated.
The organ was Opus Number 2071, and the organ shipped from the Wurlitzer Factory on September 25, 1929. The console is an original Wurlitzer from the First Baptist Church in Dothan, Alabama. The console was dismantled to its smallest component parts and restored from the base up to the top of the capitals. It was decided that the organ would be expanded from eight to 17 ranks of pipes, and that a three-manual console would be required.Ī suitable console in extremely poor condition was found and secured. The NTC wanted to design an instrument that would be musically complete and well balanced for the MPAC Courtroom Theatre. Williamson’s home until 2004, when, after his death, the organ was acquired to become the nucleus for the "new" Wurlitzer for the MPAC. Paul Williamson of Oklahoma City acquired the organ and it became the basis for the pipe organ installation in his home. The organ’s Opus (serial) number was 1632 and it was shipped from the Wurlitzer Factory in North Tonawanda, New York, on December 5, 1927.
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That is, it was a two-manual (keyboard) organ consisting of eight ranks (sets) of pipes plus tuned percussion instruments, traps and special effects. This modest Wurlitzer was a Style (model) 190 instrument. The core of the MPAC Mighty Wurlitzer comes from the Poncan Theatre in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Members of the NTC volunteered their time and talents to assist Dallas Organ Works, LLC in the restoration and building of the organ.
The North Texas Chapter (NTC) of the American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS) acquired carefully selected components over a period of years to create the instrument that is now a permanent fixture in the Courtroom Theatre. There are only a very few remaining complete theatre organs of moderate size as is needed for the MPAC. The Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ housed in the McKinney Performing Arts Center (MPAC) dates back to the late 1920s.