JACKSON LA ORGAN RENOVATION BY ATOS GULF COAST CHAPTER

WURLITZER THEATRE PIPE ORGAN
AT THE REPUBLIC OF WEST FLORIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM,
JACKSON, LOUISIANA

An on-going theatre organ project is this 2 Manual, 10 Rank Wurlitzer organ (Opus 1677) which was originally built for the Paramount Olympia Theater in Newhaven, Connecticut. The insturment is the only publicly accessible theatre pipe organ in Louisiana. Visitors to the museum may request to see and even play the organ if they wish, and regularly scheduled annual performances are held including silent movies and recitals.


Pipe Chamber exterior view	Solo chamber interior	Chamber with chrysoglott above

Post horn, oboe and tibia ranks	Spencer turbine blower and Peterson Relay	Console View following initial renovation

View of restored Clarinet rank	Toy Counter	16' Pedal Bourdon
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IF YOUR COMPUTER IS EQUIPPED FOR SOUND, YOU ARE LISTENING TO A THEATRE ORGAN.
(Deep Purple played by John DeMajo at the ROWFHS Wurlitzer)

THE ORGAN IS MAINTAINED TOTALLY THROUGH VOLUNTEER EFFORT. HERE ARE SOME PHOTOS OF RECENT WORK THAT WAS COMPLETED ON THE WINDING SYSTEM.

Left: Old Century 3 HP wound rotor motor, along with its modern 5 HP, 3 phase replacement. At right, Harold Henderson, working with SMGC maintenance crew, pressure washes blower housing in preparation for re-assembly of the unit.

Below, blower with new motor installed. The original 3 HP Century motor, installed before the organ reached the museum, had overheated due having been ms-applied on a blower requiring a 5 HP motor. Although it powered the organ for ten years prior to this corrective work, the instrument was plagued by low wind pressure and motor overheating and failures throughout those years of service. The new motor is a three-phase unit of adequate size for the organ, and winding problems have proven to have been corrected with this action by the museum and the chapter's maintenance crew.

REWIRING OF CONSOLE AND RESTORATION OF KEYBOARDS

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Console shown with keyboards removed. Keyboards were shipped to Arndt Organ Company for complete restoration. The organ is expected to be returned to service in late Summer of 2005.

Rear of console showing new cabling to relay and chambers. Peterson terminal boards were installed in place of the original Wurlitzer spreaders which had been damaged by attempts to solder the pressure connections prior to the time the organ was acquired by the Jackson museum.

During the Summer of 2005, the organ console was subjected to some much needed corrective action by the local ATOS chapter. The original keyboards had become unplayable due to moisture problems and deterioration which began when the console was in storage prior to its acquisition by the ROWFHS Museum. After much planning and preparation, the instrument was shut down after Christmas of 2004, and the keyboards were removed and shipped to Bob Arndt (Arndt Organ Supply) for restoration. At the same time, the console wiring was addressed. The original cotton wiring was removed due to fire code concerns. All cabling was replaced with modern thermo-plastic wire. The Wurlitzer spreader boards, which had been badly damaged by overheating due to attempts to solder the connections over the years, were replaced with Peterson terminals. All re-wiring was performed on-site by members of the chapter.

THE ORGAN IS MAINTAINED TOTALLY THROUGH VOLUNTEER EFFORT. HERE ARE SOME PHOTOS OF RECENT WORK THAT WAS COMPLETED ON THE WINDING SYSTEM.

Left: Old Century 3 HP wound rotor motor, along with its modern 5 HP, 3 phase replacement. At right, Harold Henderson, working with SMGC maintenance crew, pressure washes blower housing in preparation for re-assembly of the unit.

Below, blower with new motor installed. The original 3 HP Century motor, installed before the organ reached the museum, had overheated due having been ms-applied on a blower requiring a 5 HP motor. Although it powered the organ for ten years prior to this corrective work, the instrument was plagued by low wind pressure and motor overheating and failures throughout those years of service. The new motor is a three-phase unit of adequate size for the organ, and winding problems have proven to have been corrected with this action by the museum and the chapter's maintenance crew.

REWIRING OF CONSOLE AND RESTORATION OF KEYBOARDS
	.
Console shown with keyboards removed. Keyboards were shipped to Arndt Organ Company for complete restoration. The organ is expected to be returned to service in late Summer of 2005.		Rear of console showing new cabling to relay and chambers. Peterson terminal boards were installed in place of the original Wurlitzer spreaders which had been damaged by attempts to solder the pressure connections prior to the time the organ was acquired by the Jackson museum.

During the Summer of 2005, the organ console was subjected to some much needed corrective action by the local ATOS chapter. The original keyboards had become unplayable due to moisture problems and deterioration which began when the console was in storage prior to its acquisition by the ROWFHS Museum. After much planning and preparation, the instrument was shut down after Christmas of 2004, and the keyboards were removed and shipped to Bob Arndt (Arndt Organ Supply) for restoration. At the same time, the console wiring was addressed. The original cotton wiring was removed due to fire code concerns. All cabling was replaced with modern thermo-plastic wire. The Wurlitzer spreader boards, which had been badly damaged by overheating due to attempts to solder the connections over the years, were replaced with Peterson terminals. All re-wiring was performed on-site by members of the chapter.