Nineteenth Street Theatre / Civic Theatre: Auditorium
527 N. 19th Street
Allentown, PA
Images
ca. 2020 - Auditorium interior post-restoration with organ console at right. (Photograph from an archival source: Evergreene Architectural Arts, submitted by Jim Stettner/Jim Stettner)
1960 - Proscenium Arch and right organ chamber showing console placement (Photograph from an archival source: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain), submitted by Jim Stettner/Jim Stettner)
ca. 1928 - Proscenium arch from house left (Photograph from an archival source: cinematreasures.org, submitted by Jim Stettner/Jim Stettner)
2020 - Theatre interior and console (Mark Demmin II/Jeff Scofield)
Unknown - Building exterior (via cinematreasures.org/Jeff Scofield)
Consoles
Main
- Organ type: Horseshoe
- 3 manuals
- 7 stops
- 65 registers
- 4 divisions
- Key action Type: Electrical
- Stop action Type: Electrical
- Stop layout Type: Stop Keys in Horseshoe Curves
- Manual compass: 61 notes
- Pedal compass: 32 notes
- Pedal Type: Concave Radiating (Meeting AGO Standards)
- Expression Type: Balanced Expression Shoes/Pedals (Details Unknown)
- Has crescendo
- Combination action: 'Hold and Set' Pneumatic/Mechanical
- Has combination thumb pistons
- Has tutti thumb pistons
Notes
2007-11-26 - Identified from factory documents and publications courtesy of Stephen Schnurr. -Database Manager
2022-12-04 - One commenter on the cinematreasures.org website states,* "That Moller is opus 5139, installed in 1928 at a cost of $10,500.00."* This may have come from the Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ, Vol. I by David L. Junchen which gives the same price. It also lists the organ as a 'Style 70'. -Jim Stettner
2022-12-04 - Updated through online information from Christopher Opresko: The console received a new digital memory in 2000 at the hands of the Allen Organ Co. -Jim Stettner
2024-02-25 - Per Jonathan M Crist and Howard B Haas on cinematreasures.org: The Nineteenth Street Theatre opened September 17, 1928 with 1,000 seats and the silent movie (with Western Electric recorded sound effects & musical score) “The Sawdust Paradise” starring Esther Ralston. The theatre was designed by the Philadelphia architectural firm of Thalheimer & Weitz. The Moller Deluxe pipe organ is still played today. The interior walls were painted green with gold and silver accents. The auditorium now seats 501.
Since the summer of 1957, the Civic Theatre of Allentown has owned the building and presented plays. The theatre has also served as Allentown’s art house movie theatre for several decades. Restoration is ongoing. On October 7, 1994, the restored marquee was turned on and it looks just like it did on opening day. New restrooms have been built on the main floor, where stores used to be. About 2004, a 100-seat black box theatre for live shows and movies opened across the street in a former warehouse building. It was closed for renovations in January 2018 and reopened in October 2018. -Jeff Scofield
Documents
Other Links
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.