|
The Warren organ was built in
Woodstock, Ontario in 1920 and was installed in the Capitol
Theatre in Winnipeg. In 1947, it was removed from that theatre by
Herbert Park, a local engineer and collector who hoped to install
it in a shed behind his home. Unfortunately, a job transfer to Ottawa and
later ill health forced the cancellation of this ambitious plan. The
Park family moved the organ parts to Ottawa over four years (1958
to 1961) and stored them in a couple of garages. The parts were
later moved to their home, occupying most of the basement,
closets, living room, garage and several outdoor lean-tos and
sheds.
Mr. Park
passed away before seeing his dream of having the organ rebuilt
and available to the public realized. In 1990,
Mr. Park's widow donated the organ parts to the Ottawa Valley
Theatre Organ Society. Since 1990, Society members have
uncrated, assessed and catalogued the pieces from
at least four different organs donated by the Park family.
Society
President Ross Robinson referred to it as "an oversize
jig-saw puzzle that has taken us several years to solve."
Initially, the pieces were stored at the homes of four members and
an old barn in the country.
The organ's
final move occurred in
1995 when it was trucked to Renfrew to the O'Brien Theatre. Work
on chambers, wind lines and electronics was carried out through a small employment grant, Society members and other
volunteers from the community.
The 3/7 Robert-Morton organ was
originally installed in the Majestic Theater in Santa Monica, CA.
It was later used in a Seventh-Day Adventist church and came to us
through Robert Maes of Pipes & Palaces Productions of Kansas
City. Its 7 ranks are being augmented by a Morton Kinura
rank and the 13 ranks of Warren pipes. The Peterson relay control system
and traditional console will become the new "front end"
for the Warren organ. The original Warren console is in storage and
it will be rebuilt to provide dual-console
capabilities.
The Warren organ, after being
"on the move" and in storage since 1947, has finally
found a new, permanent home.
Our Society's Secretary, Dr. John
Batts, says, "That the Warren organ has survived at all is a
tribute to individual generosity by ordinary Canadians who have
realized that too often in the past, treasured artifacts have
perished because of carelessness and complacency."
To
read more about where the parts for the Warren organ came from, click
here |
