Local, state and national news organizations were onsite to spread the word of the danger the organ was in due to the flooding, and the efforts to pull the console from the theatre at the last minute as the stage became increasingly unstable.

Here are some of the many reports submitted:

June 17: CNN iReport by CRATOS

June 18: The Gazette (Cedar Rapids) and KCRG (Cedar Rapids) send reporters, photographers, and video crews onsite to document the incredible efforts underway by CRATOS, Paramount theatre management, Coonrod and Altorfer to save the console.

June 18: CNN follow-up on iReport with a live on-scene interview (wait for it).

June 19: The Gazette’s Adam Bell’s report for the print edition of the paper, with some positive updates to the story.

These reports, and the follow-up reports that will document and publicize the activities CRATOS, Paramount management, and the City of Cedar Rapids now undertakes in saving or reconstructing the console, and the efforts still needed in the pipe chambers, will help keep this magnificent organ and theatre in the spotlight.

Please send any links to other related reports you’ve found to: cratos.info@gmail.com

If you have stories of the Paramount, the Wurlitzer, and the former Iowa Theatre and the Rhinestone Barton, please send them along and we’ll publish them in a special section on our site.