ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
From: Scott Smith, January 2003
Within the past two months,
I was hired to pack Wurlitzer Opus 1080, at that time owned by retired physician Russell Rowan of
Albion, Michigan for shipment to its new owner. While the organ was
identified as a rebuild on the still-extant contract from Wurlitzer, and it did recycle a previous
opus number, there was a good deal different than in its original location. According to the Walton
list, Opus 1080 was originally installed as a Style 105 in the Elm Theatre in Philadelphia, PA as a
2/3 with piano console in 1925. Apparently repossessed, at least the opus number was recycled when
reissued in 1935 at the First Presbyterian Church in Coldwater, MI as a 105RB. The 2/7 instrument
remained there until 1974, when Dr. Rowan purchased the organ and removed it to his home studio.
The organ was unusual in makeup; odd, at best for a church organ.
The Tibia (a real "crybaby") went up to 2', while the Concert Flute stopped at 4'.
One might have expected to see a recycled # 2 Trumpet, but there was a 10" Tuba Horn instead.
There was a Dulciana and lone Salicional, probably a residence set made out of common metal,
not spotted metal as one would expect in a theatre Wurlitzer, and the rollers were small and painted black.
The remaining ranks were a theatre Vox Humana and a standard scale 42 Open Diapason opened up to the hilt.
During the teardown process, it was evident that a combination of parts recycled from different organs
went into the 2/7 instrument. The Salicional bass offset was made of poplar and in like-new condition,
while the Dulciana bass offset was made from sugar pine and rather pock-marked on the surface.
The manual chestwork was all made of poplar, except for the Tibia, which was of sugar pine, and
again, obviously had some miles on it. The Diaphone and all three flute bass offsets were obviously
older, too. All chests had been apparently outfitted with "new" black cap magnets at the time of the
reissue in 1935. One can only imagine that the magnet replacement is what the "rebuilding" amounted to.
Racking and wooden winding components looked to be "new" at the time of reissue.
While I have no particular attachment to old cotton-covered cable, it is always amazing to see old,
clean cable with heavy cotton jacketing still in such remarkable condition. And yes, I made sure to
preserve, wrap and protect every little bit of originality for the new owner in the most secure manner
possible.
The new owner hired four movers from a nationwide chain of professional movers, and I was very impressed
with their concern for the organ's safety at all times. The most amusing part of the whole moving process
came when six of us attempted to move the blower housing down the hallway, whose dimensions were exactly
that of the blower. I wish everyone could have seen the housing completely suspended in
midair between the tight walls at one point, as we collectively pondered how to get it out the rest of the way!