2007-11-10 - Identified through online information from James R. Stettner. -- Installation date unknown. Likely after 1919. Preceded by a 2/4 Wurlitzer 135A of 1919 that was relocated to San Francisco in the same year of its installation. Disposition of the Morton is unknown. -Database Manager
2016-03-02 - Updated through online information from Eric Schmiedeberg. <br>I have done a considerable amount of detective work trying to figure out the Salem-era history of this instrument. Despite thorough examination of local newspaper microfilm archives, this organ's existence at the Grand is only indicated by an entry in the Morton factory records. They record the organ as having been there beginning in 1924.<br><br>This instrument's tenure at the Grand would have been very short; perhaps 18 months or so. It was replaced by a 2/5 Kimball installed by Balcolm and Vaughan of Seattle and debuted in September of 1925 for the Heilig Theatre chain which took out a one-year (unsuccessful) lease on the theatre.<br><br>It is conjecture on my part, but I suspect that the Grand organ was actually a transplanted instrument and not a new shipment by Morton. There is an entry in the Morton records indicating that an organ was shipped to the Maria Theatre in Salem in 1921. The Maria never existed; at least not by that name.<br><br>There is the arrival of a new pipe organ at the Ye Liberty Theatre in Salem reported in the local newspapers in that year, however. This instrument replaced a American Photoplayer instrument which had resided there since 1919. The Robert Morton and American Photoplayer company were directly related businesses and many times Photoplayers would be replaced by "upgrades" to proper theatre pipe organs--built by the Robert Morton Organ Company, of course.<br><br>This suggests that the Liberty Photoplayer was replaced by a Morton; the so-called "Maria Theatre" Morton. It is curious, however, that the Liberty organ's brand name was never advertised in any of the local newspapers. This is in contrast to the clearly designated Photoplayer and Smith Unit Organ brands trumpeted in the papers when those instruments debuted at the Liberty in 1919 and 1924 respectively.<br><br>The 1921 Liberty organ was replaced in April of 1924 by the 2-manual Smith. Where did it go? George Guthrie was leasing the Liberty, Oregon and Grand Theatres in Salem in 1924. He debuted the Smith using Oregon Theatre organist Homer C. MacDonald at the console. I suspect that the 1921 Morton was moved across the alley to the Grand, but its 5 hp blower remained at the Liberty. The stage houses of the two theatres faced each other within a stone's throw distance.<br><br>I believe that the Grand Theatre entry of 1924 in the Morton records only refers to the shipment of a new blower to the Grand for the transplanted organ. According to Wurlitzer, Robert Morton and Kimball factory records, only the Morton and Kimball brands were installed at the Grand. The 2/4 Style 135 Wurlitzer--opus 203 (1919) was shipped by Wurlitzer to George Guthrie's Oregon Theatre to replace a 1912 Austin of 2 manuals and 14 registers. Opus 203 was quickly supplanted by Wurlitzer opus 241--a 3/12 Style 185 Special in 1919.<br><br>George Guthrie was the only major theatre owner in Salem to install pipe organs in his theatres as a policy during the theatre organ's Golden Age. The 1921 Liberty organ was orphaned and, given Guthrie's pro-organ policies, was most likely recycled for use at the Grand. -Database Manager
Regrettably, it is not possible to display the information about the sponsor of this pipeorgandatabase entry or if there is a sponsor. Please see About Sponsors on Pipe Organ Database.