RKO 81st Street Theatre - New York City (Byron Company, 1915)
  Keith's 81st Street Theatre (1915)
  1944 photo of RKO 81st Street Theatre - New York City
  Keith's 81st Street Theatre (1944)
Click on images to enlarge
RKO 81st Street Theatre

2248 Broadway at 81st Street
New York, N.Y. 10024

Organ Specifications:
► III/17 M.P. Möller, Inc., Op. 3037 (1921)
• Welte & Sons Company (1916)



This theatre was to be called the Boulevard (as Broadway was then known), but opened in 1913 as Keith's 81st Street Theatre, a neighborhood house for vaudeville and stage plays. Designed in the Adams style by Thomas W. Lamb, the 2,015-seat theatre was noted for a gorgeous mural, “Music & Dancing,” painted on the sounding board above the proscenium. The oval mural was covered by mottled glass that produced a rich, golden glow. Over the years, the theatre's interior was renovated several times.

In late December 1953, it was announced that CBS-TV had acquired the RKO 81st Street Theatre under a long-term lease. CBS converted the theatre for use as their first major color television studio.

In 1986, the theatre was sold and its air rights were used to erect an adjacent 23-story apartment building fronting 81st Street. The original three-story terra cotta theatre building was preserved for use as the lobby for the apartment building. Beyer Blinder Belle, one of the city’s premier architectural firms specializing in historic preservation, designed the facility known as The Broadway.
   
M.P. Möller, Inc.
Hagerstown, Md. – Opus 3037 (1921)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 34 stops, 17 ranks



The second organ installed in the RKO 81st Street Theatre was built in 1921 by M.P. Möller of Hagerstown, Md. On the Memorandum of Agreement (July 15, 1920), we read that the organ cost $9,500, and would be ready for use on or before May 1, 1921. Möller's 3/17 theatre organ (with slight variations) was a standard model for the company.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Violin Diapason [TC]
73
2
   Piccolo [Fl. Harm.]
OR
8
   Open Diapason
85
     Mixture III ranks
derived
8
   Viol d'Orchestre
73
16
   Bass Clarinet [TC]
OR
8
   Doppel Flute
73
8
   French Horn
73
4
   Octave [Op. Diap.]
—
4
   Octave Horn
—
4
   Zart Flute [Quintadena]
OR
    
Cathedral Chimes
20 Notes
               
Orchestral Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Violin Diapason
GT
16
   Fagotto [TC]
—
8
   Horn Diapason (syn)
—
8
   Orchestral Oboe
73
8
   Viol d'Orchestre
GT
8
   Clarinet
73
8
   Viol Celeste [TC]
73
    
Orchestral Bells
25 Notes
8
   Quintadena
73
    
Concert Harp
37 Notes
4
   Flute Harmonic
73
    
Glockenspiel
37 Notes
               
Solo Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Gross Flute
85
4
   Gemshorn [TG]
—
8
   Concert Flute
73
16
   Bass Tuba [TC]
—
8
   Gemshorn
85
8
   Tuba
73
8
   Violoncello
73
8
   Vox Humana
73
4
   Flute Overte [TG] [Gross Fl.]
—
    
Xylophone
37 Notes
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
   Open Diapason [ext. Gross Fl.]
12
16
   Lieblich Gedeckt [lo-press.]
—
16
   Sub Bass
32
8
   Violoncello
SO
16
   Gemshorn [ext.]
12
8
   Flute
SO
               
Couplers
    Great to Pedal 8', 4'       Orch. to Solo  
    Orch. to Pedal 8'       Solo to Orch. 8' 8'  
    Solo to Pedal 8'       Great 4'  
    Orch. to Great 16', 8', 4'       Orch. 16', 4'  
    Solo. to Great 16', 8', 4'       Solo 16', 4'  
               
Mechanicals
    Orchestral Tremulant   Crescendo Indicator
    Solo Tremulant    
               
Adjustable Combinations
   
Orchestral Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb)
Great Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb)
Solo Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4 (thumb)
Pedal Organ Pistons 1-2-3 (thumb)
               
Piston Couplers
    Corresponding Orchestral and Solo Pistons to Great Pistons
    Corresponding Pedal Pistons to Manual Pistons
               
Pedal Movements
    Balanced Solo Pedal   Great to Pedal Reversible
    Balanced Orchestral Pedal   Orchestral to Pedal Reversible
    Grand Crescendo Pedal   Thunder Pedal
   
Welte & Sons Company
Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (1916)
Electro-pneumatic action


The original organ in the 81st Street Theatre was built in 1916 by the Welte & Sons Company of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
     
Sources:
     Cinema Treasures web site: http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/3430
     "Color Programing Between NBC and CBS Looms; NBC Ahead," The Billboard (Dec. 26, 1953):1,5.
     Junchen, David L. Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ, Vols. 1 and II. Pasadena: Showcase Publications, 1985.
     Lewis, James. Welte Organ Company Opus List.
     Memorandum of Agreement (July 15, 1920) with Factory Specifications of M.P. Möller organ, Op. 3037 (1921). Courtesy Larry Trupiano.

Illustrations:
     Byron Company (New York, N.Y.). Photo (1915) of exterior. Collection of the Museum of the City of New York.
     Unknown photographer. 1944 photo of exterior.