The re-opening date for the theatre is not yet finalized.

More updates will be provided as details are released.

Fortunately this time the water was clean, but still damaging to an already flooded and closed building.  The City of Cedar Rapids has not yet made any decision on restoration of the theatre and the Mighty Wurlitzer theatre organ.  The building remains closed and under minimal maintenance for the winter until a decision can be made regarding the future of this priceless landmark building.

Opening on Saturday, September 1st, 1928, the Capitol Theatre was part of the Publix/Balaban & Katz chain of theatres. The Capitol opened with great fluorish, heralded by fireworks and airplanes which dropped prizes in the vicinity of the theatre.

The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company of North Tonawanda, New York, was the quintessential and by far the largest manufacturer of theatre pipe organs.  “Wurlitzer” became both a household word and a generic term for theatre organs.

The Capitol’s Wurlitzer was shipped from the facrory on July 16, 1928. It was the first in a series of “special” Wurlitzers designed specifically for the Balaban & Katz theatre chain. It is listed as style “Balaban 1A”.

After a few years, Paramount bought out the Balaban & Katz chain, and the theatre became the Paramount.

The console is the most visible part of the organ. The 3/12 (three keyboard, twelve rank) organ houses over 900 pipes in two chambers, the “Main” on the left, and the “Solo” on the right, that produce a wonderous sound.

It’s ready for you– This Palace of Splendor with its acre of seats. The rare paintings are hung, the sculptures are in place, the deep carpet is waiting for the tread of thousands who will come to marvel at the countless wonders!…The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette and Republican, 1928.

We are deeply saddened to report that the console did not survive the flood intact.  Altorfer and Coonrod Crane Service volunteers rushed to the aid of the CRATOS team to help pull the console free from the edge of the stage and organ lift.  The strain of movement, water, time, and exposure to extreme conditions was simply too much.  Our beautiful Balaban 1A console, a fixture of the Paramount Theatre since 1928 made it into the sunlight for the first time in 80 years, holding together until the very end.

CRATOS members onsite worked to salvage any major components from the console.  The keydesk, top, stoprail, all stop tabs, pedal board, and bench were all retrieved along with several pieces of ornate woodwork and the original Wurlitzer faceplates.  The remaining portions of the console are in temporary storage while decisions can be made and funding secured to rebuild or replace the console.

Following the efforts to save the console, the CRATOS members onsite entered the upper levels of the Paramount to inspect the Main pipe chamber.  We were very encouraged to see that no water had entered this chamber – which we have to assume for the time being is the same as in the Solo chamber which is not easily accessible at this time.  The temperature was a cool 70 degress, and much lower humidity than expected.  The water line is approximately 1 ft under the floor of the chamber.

Despite the damage to the console, the condition of the pipe chambers is very encouraging, and gives us renewed hope that the organ will once again play in its original home.  I will take time, talent, and the generosity of the community to bring this priceless instrument back to life.
Updated photos are in our gallery. 

The Paramount is difficult to look at, the organ console off the lift and on its back and heavily damaged.  We’re holding out for good news from the two pipe chambers once the building is a bit safer to get around it.  The theatre was hit very hard by the flood waters  After we get further clearance to enter and evaluate the condition of the Wurlitzer we’ll provide further updates.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette published an article, complete with a photo of the console and video including the interior of the theatre.

We had KCCI in Des Moines and KCRG in Cedar Rapids with us in the Iowa (TCR) theatre today to document the condition of the Rhinstone Barton.  This organ and console escaped the same level of damage over at the Paramount.  There is still considerable work here to get the Barton back to playable condition.

Photos of both organs will be published in the CRATOS Gallery.

A note from CRATOS President, Darren Ferreter:

I would like to begin by thanking everyone who has taken a moment to send notes of support to CRATOS after the flooding and organ damage that occurred in Cedar Rapids.

Although the water level is dropping, the Cedar River is not anywhere near being within its banks. The water current is swift and very enraged.  CRATOS is days from accessing either theatre. The National Guard has been on hand to (thankfully) prevent looting of the downtown area.  It has been an interesting study as you learn much about a person during a crisis period.

As an update, here is what I know to this point . . .

The water level in the Paramount theatre with its original 3/12 Wurlitzer was believed to have peaked at about 9 foot above stage level which will have completely destroyed the console, blower, and lift.  We have been studying some very incomplete plans of the theatre cross section but have begun to have some serious question about water in the chambers. Nine feet is very close to being at least at floor level of both the main and solo chambers.� We trying to decide if the chambers may have taken murky water that could have created damage to regulators, tremulants, and possibly offset chests. Again, we have not had access, but we are considering the worst as the CRATOS organ crew begin to develop our plan for protecting the remaining components of the instrument. We do not expect access into the Paramount for another 4-5 days.

At the Iowa theatre, it is believed that water had entered the theatre but we are speculating the Wangerin built 3/14 Rhinestone Barton will have survived much better than the Wurlitzer. We are seeing photos of the exterior of the theatre that showed about 8-12 inches of water surrounding the building but most of us believe the stage level is a bit higher than the street. We do not expect access into the Iowa theatre for a few more days.

I would assume over time we will be looking for a new blower, blower motor, and seeing what our options would be in acquiring a three-manual Wurlitzer console.

Again, we appreciate hearing from people. I’ve not been able to take time to respond to each note as I am very busy trying to help my employer Mercy Medical Center back on its feet after we had to evacuate patients and staff because of water that was never expected anywhere near the hospital.

We are doing our best to keep the CRATOS website www.cr-atos.com updated. More updates to follow.

Darren Ferreter, President
Cedar Rapids Area Theatre Organ Society (CRATOS)
Geu30cg at aol.com
www.cr-atos.com

The Cedar River crested at 3:30pm on Friday, June 13, 2008, at roughly 20 ft above flood stage, and nearly 12 feet above the previous record of 20ft set in 1929.As CRATOS watches local news broadcasts we are holding out hope for the pipe chambers in both the Paramount and Iowa Theatres. Based upon news footage of the downtown, the water levels at the Paramount Theatre came within 1 foot of the bottom of the marquee (roughly 8ft of water from street level). It is generally thought that this places the console, which was placed at stage level, completely submerged. The Barton in the Iowa Theatre appears to be in a better position, but still looking as though there is 2 – 4 feet of water at stage level.

No access to the downtown area is possible except for authorized business owners under escort to retrieve business items. We are holding out for the waters to continue to recede and for our first opportunity to gain access to both theatres to assess and document the damage.

We are working on gathering some additional photos of current conditions and will publish them in our

Thank you to everyone who has called, emailed and left notes of encouragement and support on the various organ websites.

Neal Marple, Secretary
CRATOS

The Cedar Rapids Paramount theatre and its 3/12 Wurlitzer:

As of 6:20pm Central time conversation with the theatre Management was that sandbags were breached at 7:00 this morning with water pouring in all doors.� It is believed that the water level is a few feet higher than the stage.  This means blower, lift, lift motor, cable, and console are waterlogged.  I am told the earliest anyone – including theatre management will have access to the building will be at least six days from now.  We are assuming the worst at this venue.

The Iowa Theatre and its 3/14 Rhinestone Barton.

I was unable to reach anyone at the Iowa Theatre but looking at the aerial views it appears the Iowa theatre is also having water as the building is surrounded on all sides by water that looks to be at least a foot deep. The flooding would affect the console obviously but everything else “should” be safe.

Thanks to all for notes and calls of concerns. I am guessing we will have a very intense summer of organ work ahead of us.

Darren Ferreter, President

As you may already be aware, Cedar Rapids, IA and the surrounding communities have been ravaged by record setting floods over the past several days.

CRATOS raised the organ console at the Paramount Theatre to its highest level on Wednesday afternoon in anticipation of the flood.  On the morning of June 12, 2008, the flood waters were reported to have entered the theatre.  We are awaiting further updates on the status of the theatre and it’s original installation Wurlitzer.

A few blocks away, the original installation 3/14 Rhinestone Barton is also up on its console lift.  Reports on the condition of that theatre are not yet in.

We are watching and waiting for more information on the organs, and our community.

As more information on the Wurlitzer and Barton are available