ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
From: Lou Hurvitz, February 1999
Originally installed in the Capitol (later Paramount) Theatre, Saint
Paul, Minnesota, it was purchased (mid-to-late 50s) by Stanley Hubbard, the
owner of television station KSTP, Saint Paul. The instrument featured
prominently in KSTP's programming. Every night at 11pm, a 15-minute Leonard
Leigh concert was telecast. And, the instrument was featured on the 12
noon-1pm programming. When Mr. Leigh departed, Bob Paige took his position on
the organ's Howard Seat.
I'm not positive of the year, but sometime around (I
think) the early-to-mid 1980s, the organ found a new home in the Phipps
Performing Arts Center in Hudson, Wisconsin (18 miles from Saint Paul and just
across the Saint Croix River). A regular concert series features this fine
instrument.
From: Don Peterson, January 2010
Just a little information on the KSTP Wurlitzer.
It was install in two chambers that actually had shutters.
The were always in the full open position however. In front of the chambers was what amounted to a 6 foot wide hallway.
In the center of the hall and in front of each swell opening was a single high quality microphone.
These fed into the central control room sound board and then fed through a reverb unit to give the organ some presents.
The console was located fairly close to a corner of the main TV production studio.
The swell shoes were volume controls that also went into the sound board.
The organist listened to the organ on two good quality studio monitors mounted above and behind the console.
For several years, every Saturday Night at 11 PM, Leonard Leigh broadcast live on KSTP TV for a half hour.
I was fortunate to visit the studio on several occasions. The show never had a "Studio Audience".
When Stan Hubbard Sr passed away, the organ fell into silence.
It was eventually removed from the studio and moved to it's present location