Better Pipe Organ Database


Marr & Colton (1928)

Warner Bros. Theatre
Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles: Hollywood, CA

Note: Not extant. Not playable. (in this location)


Images


Unknown - Stage and Console (Jim Lewis Collection, courtesy of Jim Lewis (ca 1928)/Database Manager)

1928-09-08 - Auditorium Interior and Console (Photograph by Mott Studios and in the collection of California State Library; image courtesy of Jim Lewis/Database Manager)

c.1970 - Console (Bill Gabel/Jim Lewis)

Consoles

Main


Notes

2012-09-20 - Identified through online information from Jim lewis. -- This organ was built originally in 1924 for the Piccadilly Theatre in New York City. It was moved in 1928 to the Warner Bros. Theatre in Hollywood, CA. It had four manuals and 28 ranks. The white/gold console was mounted on an elevator at the center of the orchestra pit. Pipework was disbursed in the early 1970s. -Database Manager

2014-02-07 - Updated through online information from Frank Sele. -- Sometime in the late 60's the LA chapter of ATOS was seeking to relocate this organ to the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. This fell through when the Reginald Foort traveling Moller was installed in the Civic. A group of LA ATOS members and I visited the Warner to survey the organ. The theatre had been converted to Cinerama. A suspended ceiling was installed over the auditorium and all the decorative plaster work on the walls was covered with curtains. The console had been lowered on its lift and a concrete floor was poured covering the area over the console as well as the rest of the orchestra pit. The electrical connections to the blower had been cut. On examining a large electrical panel in the basement the name "ORGAN BLOWER", although painted over, could be seen. A long extension cord was spotted in a corner and the blower was connected to the electrical panel. When switched on, the organ actually played although you could hardly hear it at the console due to the concrete and it was barely audible in the theatre due to the curtains. This was unfortunately short lived when the odor of burning rubber was detected as the extension cord gave up the ghost. The organ had a marimba but not just an ordinary marimba. The stop tab was engraved "GUATAMALIAN MARIMBA". As I recall, "GUATAMALIAN" was squeezed into the width of the stop tab - possibly a record. When the Foort organ was donated, the Marr and Colton no longer had a home and it was given to the the Arizona ATOS where I understand it was broken up for parts. Most of the 8' octaves were on offset chests which allowed the 4' and higher pipes to be on shorter chests allowing them to be stacked making for a compact installation. -Database Manager


Stoplist

from Console magazine July, 1977 Source: Source not recorded Date not recorded

Hollywood, California
Warner Brothers Theater

Marr & Colton   1924/1928   4/28

Chamber analysis:

Main chamber:
Tuba Sonora
Diaphonic Diapason
Tibia Plena
Clarinet
Viole d'Orchestre #1
Viole d'Orchestre #2
Viole Celeste
Salicional
Echo Viole
French Horn
Oboe Horn
Bourdon/Flute
Claribel Flute
Vox Humana

Solo chamber:
English Post Horn
Tuba Mirabilis
French Trumpet
Open Diapason
Horn Diapason
Tibia Clausa
Saxophone
Orchestral Oboe
Kinura
Solo String
Solo String Celeste
Gamba
Gamba Celeste
Quintadena


 [Received from Jim lewis 2012-11-13.]

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