Kenmore Theatre - Brooklyn, N.Y. (c.1950s photo: Cinema Treasures website)
 
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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.
           
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.
           
Pedal – 32 notes
16
  Ophicleide     Bass Drum
16
  Diaphone [metal]     Kettle Drum
16
  Tibia Clausa     Snare Drum
16
  Bourdon     Crash Cymbal
8
  Tuba Horn     Cymbal
8
  Octave     Great to Pedal
8
  Tibia Clausa     Solo to Pedal
8
  Clarinet      
8
  Saxophone     Pedal 2nd Touch
8
  String
16
  Diaphone
8
  Cello
16
  Ophicleide – Pizzicato
8
  Flute      
4
  Flute     1st Touch & 2nd Touch Traps Switch
16
  Piano      
          3 Combination Toe Pistons
           
Accompaniment (Manual I) –- 61 notes
16
  Contra Viol (TC)     Mandolin
16
  Bourdon     Marimba [re-it]
8
  Tuba Horn     Harp
8
  Diaphonic Diapason     Crysoglott
8
  Tibia Clausa     Snare Drum
8
  Clarinet     Tambourine
8
  Saxophone     Castanets
8
  String     Chinese Block
8
  Viole d'Orchestre     Tom Tom
8
  Viole Celeste      
8
  Oboe Horn     Accompaniment 2nd Touch
8
  Quintadena
8
  Tuba Horn
8
  Flute
8
  Tibia Clausa
8
  Vox Humana     Cathedral Chimes
4
  Piccolo     Sleigh Bells
4
  Viole     Xylophone
4
  Octave Celeste     Triangle
4
  Flute     Solo to Accomp.
4
  Vox Humana     Solo to Accomp. –- Pizzicato
2 2/3
  Twelfth      
2
  Piccolo     10 Double Touch Adjustable
8
  Piano          Combination Pistons
4
  Piano      
          Suitable Bass
Great (Manual II) – 61 notes
16
  Ophicleide
2
  Fifteenth
16
  Diaphone
2
  Piccolo
16
  Tibia Clausa
1 3/5
  Tierce
16
  Clarinet (TC)
16
  Piano
16
  Saxophone (TC)
8
  Piano
16
  Contra Viol (TC)
4
  Piano
16
  Bourdon     Marimba [re-it]
8
  Trumpet     Harp
8
  Tuba Horn     Cathedral Chimes
8
  Diaphonic Diapason     Xylophone
8
  Tibia Clausa     Glockenspiel
8
  Clarinet     Orchestral Bells [re-it]
8
  Orchestral Oboe     Sleigh Bells
8
  Kinura     Chrysoglott
8
  Saxophone     Solo to Great
8
  String      
8
  Viole d'Orchestre     Great 2nd Touch
8
  Viole Celeste
16
  Ophicleide
8
  Flute
8
  Tibia Clausa
8
  Vox Humana     Solo to Great
4
  Clarion     Solo to Great – Pizzicato
4
  Piccolo      
4
  Viol     10 Double Touch Adjustable
4
  Octave Celeste          Combination Pistons
4
  Flute      
2 2/3
  Twelfth     Suitable Bass
           
Solo (Manual III) – 61 notes
16
  Ophicleide
4
  Clarion
8
  Trumpet
4
  Piccolo
8
  Tuba Horn     Cathedral Chimes
8
  Diaphonic Diapason     Xylophone
8
  Tibia Clausa     Glockenspiel
8
  Clarinet     Orchestral Bells [re-it]
8
  Orchestral Oboe      
8
  Kinura     10 Double Touch Adjustable
8
  Saxophone          Combination Pistons
8
  String      
8
  Oboe Horn     Suitable Bass
8
  Quintadena      
           
Tremulants (3)
    Main      
    Solo      
    Vox Humana      
           
General
    Two Balanced Expression Pedals with Indicating Keys
    One Balanced Crescendo Pedal
    Thunder Pedal (Diaphone) – Piano Pedal
    Thunder Pedal (Reed) – Piano Pedal
    One Double Touch Sforzando Pedal – Piano Pedal
     • 1st Touch: Full stops (wind)
     • 2nd Touch: Everything
    One Double Touch Sforzando Pedal – Piano Pedal
     • 1st Touch: Snare Drum
     • 2nd Touch: Bass Drum and Cymbal
           
Effects (operated by pistons)
    Auto Horn   Fire Gong
    Steamboat Whistle   Horse Hoofs
    Two Birds (one in each expression box)    
         
STOP & CHAMBER ANALYSIS
     
Main Chamber
16
  Diaphonic Diapason
85 pipes
16
  Tuba Horn
85 pipes
8
  Clarinet
61 pipes
16
  Concert Flute
97 pipes
8
  Viole d'Orchestre
85 pipes
8
  Viole Celeste
73 pipes
8
  Vox Humana
61 pipes
    Chrysoglott
49 notes
 
    Piano
85 notes
 
Solo Chamber
8
  Saxophone
61 pipes
8
  Brass Trumpet
61 pipes
8
  Solo String
61 pipes
16
  Tibia Clausa
85 pipes
8
  Orchestral Oboe
61 pipes
8
  Quintadena
61 pipes
8
  Oboe Horn
61 pipes
8
  Kinura
61 pipes
    Marimba
49 notes
    Cathedral Chimes
25 notes
    Xylophone
37 notes
    Glockenspiel
37 notes
    Sleigh Bells
25 notes
           
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).