Note: Not extant. Not playable. (in this location)
2012-06-10 - Identified through online information from Will Dunklin. -- The Rainbow Room, one New York City's most famous restaurants of the Jazz Age, featured major name big bands to entertain the patrons who danced on a revolving dance floor while enjoying the views from the 65th floor. The twin-console organ supplemented the bands and was featured as a solo instrument. The organ was removed in the 1950's. -Database Manager
2016-01-08 - Wurlitzer Style R16<br> Factory date: March 29, 1934 -Database Manager
2019-12-01 - From the NYC AGO NYC Organ Project: In 1934, the contract was signed for a Wurlitzer Style R16 organ to be installed in the Rainbow Room on the 65th Floor of the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center. The organ was designed to be played and heard in both the Rainbow Room and a private dining room on the 70th floor. Two straight-bolster consoles (one in Modernistic style) and a player controlled the 10-rank instrument, which was undoubtedly the highest installation for any Wurlitzer organ. In 1954, the organ was moved and reinstalled in the Joe Oelhaf Residence in New York; it later was moved to the Lee Hulko Residence in New Hope, Pennsylvania, who, in 1999, donated the organ to the Senior Citizen facility in Rahway, New Jersey, where it was installed by members and crews from the Garden State Theatre Organ Society. -Database Manager
2021-02-17 - The Rainbow Room, an Art Deco-style restaurant and nightclub located on the sixty-fifth floor of 30 Rockefeller Center, opened on October 3, 1934. It was named for the lighting effects from a floor made of 360 glass blocks under which are more than 2,600 red, green, blue, and amber lights. A color organ synchronized the lights with music from the elaborate custom-made pipe organ while patrons danced on a revolving floor to the strains of legendary big bands. Over the years, singers and performers such as Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Guy Lombardo, Louis Armstrong, Lawrence Welk, and Tony Bennett have entertained dinner guests at the legendary Manhattan hotspot. From its opening day, the Rainbow Room has epitomized Manhattan luxury to both native New Yorkers and visitors from around the world. In 1998, control of the restaurant passed to the Italian Cipriani family, which started Harry's Bar in Venice. 30 Rockefeller Center, which has 71 floors and is 872 feet tall, is the largest building of the Rockefeller Center complex. Originally named for its largest tenant, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), the building today is known as "30 Rock" or the G.E. (General Electric) building, and is headquarters for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). Rockefeller Center was named after John D. Rockefeller Jr., who leased the space from Columbia University in 1928 and developed it between 1929 and 1940. Raymond Hood was the principal architect of the complex. -John Roper
Source: Stoplist from the NYC AGO New York City Organ Project Date not recorded
New York, New York
The Rainbow Room
Wurlitzer Op. 2185 1934 3/10
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GREAT ACCOMPANIMENT
16' Tibia Clausa tc 16' Contra Viol tc
16' Oboe Horn tc 8' Tuba
16' Contra Viol tc 8' Open Diapason
16' Bourdon 8' Clarinet
8' Tuba 8' Oboe Horn
8' Open Diapason 8' Salicional
8' Tibia Clausa 8' Voix Celeste tc
8' Clarinet 8' Flute
8' Oboe Horn 8' Vox Humana
8' Salicional 8' Dulciana
8' Voix Celeste tc 4' Octave
8' Flute 4' Piccolo
8' Vox Humana 4' Salicet
8' Dulciana 4' Octave Celeste
4' Octave 4' Flute
4' Piccolo 4' Vox Humana
4' Salicet 4' Dulcet
4' Octave Celeste Chrysoglott
4' Flute Solo Sub ACC
4' Dulcet Solo Unison ACC
2 2/3' Twelfth Solo Octave ACC
Cathedral Chimes
Chrysoglott SOLO
Solo Sub Great
Solo Unison Great 16' Tuba
Solo Octave Great 8' Open Diapason
8' Tibia Clausa
PEDAL 8' Clarinet
8' Oboe Horn
16' Bass 8' Salicional
16' Bourdon 8' Flute
8' Tuba 8' Vox Humana
8' Diapason 4' Octave
8' Tibia Clausa 4' Piccolo
8' Clarinet 4' Salicet
8' Cello 4' Flute
8' Flute 2 2/3' Twelfth
8' Dulciana 2' Piccolo
ACC to PD Cathedral Chimes
GT to PD
SO to PD
Tremulants: Main, Solo, Vox Humana
Combinations: 5 thumb pistons to each manual
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