MOHAI MInute: The Paramount's Mighty Wurlitzer

The Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) presents a series of quickies that take you on a time-traveling journey to some of Seattle's most fascinating historic spots. This week, learn about Seattle's historic Paramount Theater and its organ, "The Mighty Wurlitzer".

Category:

Education

Tags:

• MOHAI Minute
• MOHAI
• Museum of History & Industry
• wireless
• Paramount
• Wurlitzer
• organ
• Seattle
• history
• museum
• telephones
• Peder
• Helen
• Nelson
• Divjak
• A-Y-P
• Seattle Theater Group
• Micah
• historic
• washington
• documentary
• theatre
• entertainment
• culture
• music

[RonRizzy]

2:20 - what is a "Vurlitzer?"

Rudolph wasn't Russian...

[mohaiprograms]

@RonRizzy Indeed, Franz Rudolph Wurlitzer was not Russian, but German! Our sources indicate that he was born in Saxony and immigrated over to the US at age 22. As a good German, he certainly would have pronounced the “W” in his name as a “V”.

[mohaiprograms]

@furrystoat: Our contacts at PSTOS tell us that "the organ console was indeed originally located atop a hydraulic lift at the left end of the orchestra pit. The lift was removed during the major renovation made possible by Ida Cole, during which the entire orchestra platform and first two rows of seats were provided with separate hydraulic lifts...The organ is now fitted with a computer control system, which allows the console to be positioned pretty much wherever it's needed." 

[mohaiprograms]

Correction! Ron, not Don, signed that historic program (watch for the bit when Peder and I are in the downtown library), Way to go me! Love, Helen

[jkmek99]

Great film! Thanks for doing your part to preserve the memory of these unique insturments.

[klavier1us]

Nice educational post. Now a bit of sauce for the trivia oriented. One of the very first WurliTzers (the "T" was always capped then) was installed in Washington State. The Theatre Organ or Unit Orchestra as it's inventor Robert Hope Jones called it, was the worlds first synthesizer, with its sweet Tibias (Hope Jones invention again), thundering Diaphone, lush strings and buzz saw posthorns- it allowed one person not to conduct the orchestra but to become it and take the audience into a movie.

[buffilms]

Mohai minutes definitely needs its own theme song now after this segment. did you get a lot of submissions for the film contest?

[furrystoat]

@mohaiprograms I sincerely appreciate your gracious and speedy reply as well as your verification of my often-faulty memory, thank you :-)

[furrystoat]

Isn't it true that in the Paramount there's a massive and quite impressive, although long-deactivated and unused, lift mechanism for the organ down in the basement? I understand that the organ was originally mounted on this (hydraulic?) lift which would allow the organ to be hidden down below but elevated to the stage on cue, and that the current stage covers up the opening for this 'organ lift'. A longtime stagehand told me about it and showed me the apparatus back in the 1980's.

[WhollyOdd]

I grew up helping my dad keep that and many other Theater Organs running (Including the Wurlitzer in our basement)... His biggest accomplishments were the three organs at the late great Pizza & Pipes restaurants...