Organ Stop’s Wurlitzer theatre organ was built for the Denver Theatre and was installed in 1927. The organ was used regularly until the early 1930s. With the advent of the talking picture and the 1930s depression, the organ was rarely heard. It was silenced when a fire in the auditorium caused extensive damage to the organ’s relay.
In the theatre, the organ was a style 260, having a three-manual console and 15 ranks/sets of pipes. Organ Stop purchased the instrument in the early 1970s and undertook the mammoth task of rebuilding the instrument. Several additions were made to the instrument by acquiring parts from other ill-fated Wurlitzers. The resulting 23 rank organ was installed in our original facility in 1975.
The building’s design is expressly for the enjoyment of patrons, with the organ installed in four chambers at one end of the restaurant. Forty-three-foot ceilings provide unparalleled acoustics. The console is “presented” on an 8000-pound rotating hydraulic elevator. Many of the percussions (such as the xylophones, glockenspiels, drums, etc.) are installed in the dining room for greater audience appeal.
The enlargement and improvement of this instrument has been an ongoing project… In 1997, a larger four-manual console was added to the instrument. The new console is an exact replica of a “Fox Special” French case, ornamented to match the famous Brooklyn Paramount Wurlitzer. This is the largest console type ever designed and built by Wurlitzer. Through the years, several rare sets of pipes have been added to the organ, including a massive set of 32′ wood diaphones (visible from the front of the building). As of today, the organ has over 6000 pipes. The massive quantities of wind required for operation are provided by four huge turbine blowers (visible from the outside of the building in the blower complex). The resulting instrument boasts 82 ranks, 17 tuned percussions, and innumerable traps and effects. It is not only the largest Wurlitzer theatre organ in the world, but it’s also the largest Theatre Pipe Organ of any type to ever be assembled!!!
(Left Side)
(right side)
(Above Console)
(Left Side)
(Right Side)
Center of Room
(Behind and Above Console)
(Back Wall)
(Front of Building)