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RKO Keith's Kenmore Theatre
2101 Church Avenue
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11226
The Kenmore Theatre, located on Church Avenue at 21st Street opposite Kenmore Terrace, was built as a vaudeville and movie house for the B.F. Keith Circuit. It was known as the Keith-Albee Kenmore when it opened on September 17, 1928. As designed by Eugene DeRosa, the 3,025-seat theatre had an Adam-style decor and a 60-foot-wide dome in the auditorium ceiling. The enormous balcony was noted for its side wall murals painted by Willy Pogany, similar to those by the same artist in the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan. Vaudeville continued at the Kenmore until 1932, when the theatre had become known as RKO Keith's Kenmore.
In the early 1970s, the theatre was divided into a four-screen multiplex, but the fate of the Pogany murals is unknown. Concurrent with the decline of the neighborhood, the Kenmore rapidly deteriorated and became the scene of a violent gang shooting over a seat, after which the theatre was closed by the N.Y.P.D. in 1999. It was put up for sale the following year.
In 2003, the Kenmore was gutted and converted for use as a Modell's Sporting Goods store. Surrounding businesses are now vacant. |
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Wurlitzer Organ Company
North Tonawanda, N.Y. – Opus 1908 (1928)
Electro-pneumatic action
Style 260
3 manuals, 15 ranks, 7 tuned percussions, 14 traps
The organ in the Kenmore Theatre was built by the Wurlitzer Organ Company as their Opus 1908 and had a factory date of July 17, 1928. At some point, this organ was sold to Wayne Schmidt of Babylon, N.Y., then, in 1961, it was sold to Stuart Gee of Erie, Penn. In 2011, the organ was purchased by the Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to replace a "Balaban Style 1A" Wurlitzer organ (1928, Op. 1907) that was damaged by flood in 2008. |
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Pedal – 32 notes
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16 |
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Ophicleide |
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Bass Drum |
16 |
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Diaphone [metal] |
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Kettle Drum |
16 |
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Tibia Clausa |
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Snare Drum |
16 |
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Bourdon |
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Crash Cymbal |
8 |
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Tuba Horn |
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Cymbal |
8 |
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Octave |
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Great to Pedal |
8 |
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Tibia Clausa |
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Solo to Pedal |
8 |
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Clarinet |
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8 |
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Saxophone |
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Pedal 2nd Touch |
8 |
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String |
16 |
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Diaphone |
8 |
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Cello |
16 |
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Ophicleide – Pizzicato |
8 |
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Flute |
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4 |
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Flute |
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1st Touch & 2nd Touch Traps Switch |
16 |
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Piano |
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3 Combination Toe Pistons |
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Accompaniment (Manual I) –- 61 notes
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16 |
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Contra Viol (TC) |
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Mandolin |
16 |
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Bourdon |
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Marimba [re-it] |
8 |
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Tuba Horn |
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Harp |
8 |
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Diaphonic Diapason |
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Crysoglott |
8 |
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Tibia Clausa |
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Snare Drum |
8 |
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Clarinet |
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Tambourine |
8 |
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Saxophone |
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Castanets |
8 |
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String |
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Chinese Block |
8 |
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Viole d'Orchestre |
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Tom Tom |
8 |
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Viole Celeste |
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8 |
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Oboe Horn |
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Accompaniment 2nd Touch |
8 |
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Quintadena |
8 |
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Tuba Horn |
8 |
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Flute |
8 |
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Tibia Clausa |
8 |
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Vox Humana |
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Cathedral Chimes |
4 |
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Piccolo |
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Sleigh Bells |
4 |
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Viole |
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Xylophone |
4 |
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Octave Celeste |
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Triangle |
4 |
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Flute |
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Solo to Accomp. |
4 |
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Vox Humana |
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Solo to Accomp. –- Pizzicato |
2 2/3 |
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Twelfth |
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2 |
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Piccolo |
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10 Double Touch Adjustable |
8 |
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Piano |
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Combination Pistons |
4 |
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Piano |
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Suitable Bass |
Great (Manual II) – 61 notes
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16 |
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Ophicleide |
2 |
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Fifteenth |
16 |
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Diaphone |
2 |
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Piccolo |
16 |
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Tibia Clausa |
1 3/5 |
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Tierce |
16 |
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Clarinet (TC) |
16 |
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Piano |
16 |
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Saxophone (TC) |
8 |
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Piano |
16 |
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Contra Viol (TC) |
4 |
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Piano |
16 |
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Bourdon |
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Marimba [re-it] |
8 |
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Trumpet |
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Harp |
8 |
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Tuba Horn |
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Cathedral Chimes |
8 |
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Diaphonic Diapason |
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Xylophone |
8 |
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Tibia Clausa |
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Glockenspiel |
8 |
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Clarinet |
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Orchestral Bells [re-it] |
8 |
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Orchestral Oboe |
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Sleigh Bells |
8 |
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Kinura |
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Chrysoglott |
8 |
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Saxophone |
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Solo to Great |
8 |
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String |
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8 |
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Viole d'Orchestre |
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Great 2nd Touch |
8 |
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Viole Celeste |
16 |
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Ophicleide |
8 |
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Flute |
8 |
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Tibia Clausa |
8 |
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Vox Humana |
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Solo to Great |
4 |
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Clarion |
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Solo to Great – Pizzicato |
4 |
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Piccolo |
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4 |
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Viol |
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10 Double Touch Adjustable |
4 |
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Octave Celeste |
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Combination Pistons |
4 |
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Flute |
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2 2/3 |
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Twelfth |
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Suitable Bass |
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Solo (Manual III) – 61 notes
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16 |
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Ophicleide |
4 |
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Clarion |
8 |
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Trumpet |
4 |
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Piccolo |
8 |
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Tuba Horn |
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Cathedral Chimes |
8 |
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Diaphonic Diapason |
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Xylophone |
8 |
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Tibia Clausa |
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Glockenspiel |
8 |
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Clarinet |
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Orchestral Bells [re-it] |
8 |
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Orchestral Oboe |
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8 |
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Kinura |
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10 Double Touch Adjustable |
8 |
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Saxophone |
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Combination Pistons |
8 |
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String |
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8 |
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Oboe Horn |
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Suitable Bass |
8 |
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Quintadena |
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Tremulants (3)
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Main |
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Solo |
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Vox Humana |
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General
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Two Balanced Expression Pedals with Indicating Keys |
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One Balanced Crescendo Pedal |
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Thunder Pedal (Diaphone) – Piano Pedal |
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Thunder Pedal (Reed) – Piano Pedal |
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One Double Touch Sforzando Pedal – Piano Pedal
• 1st Touch: Full stops (wind)
• 2nd Touch: Everything |
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One Double Touch Sforzando Pedal – Piano Pedal
• 1st Touch: Snare Drum
• 2nd Touch: Bass Drum and Cymbal |
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Effects (operated by pistons)
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Auto Horn |
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Fire Gong |
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Steamboat Whistle |
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Horse Hoofs |
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Two Birds (one in each expression box) |
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STOP & CHAMBER ANALYSIS |
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Main Chamber
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16 |
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Diaphonic Diapason |
85 pipes |
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16 |
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Concert Flute |
97 pipes |
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8 |
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Viole d'Orchestre |
85 pipes |
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Solo Chamber
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8 |
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Orchestral Oboe |
61 pipes |
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Cathedral Chimes |
25 notes |
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Sources:
Cinema Treasures web site: http://www.cinematreasures.org/theaters/1749
Junchen, David L. Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ, Vol. 1. Pasadena: Showcase Publications, 1985.
Junchen, David L., comp. and ed. by Jeff Weiler. The WurliTzer Pipe Organ – An Illustrated History. Chicago: The American Theatre Organ Society, 2005.
Kaufmann, Preston J. Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ, Vol. 3. Pasadena: Showcase Publications, 1995.
"Media Briefing Tomorrow: City Purchases Rare Organ for Paramount Theatre Restoration Project," The Gazette (Mar. 11, 2011), Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The Theatre Organ Home Page: http://theatreorgans.com. Specifications of Wurlitzer Style 260.
Illustration:
Joe Testagrose Collection, via Cinema Treasures web site. Exterior (1950s). |
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