Hall of Mirrors - Sept. 2010 (courtesy of The Gazette)

The Gazette has a report in today’s edition summarizing the plans:

http://gazetteonline.com/breaking-news/2010/09/07/massive-paramount-restoration-begins-this-spring-sneak-preview-thursday

In addition, the City of Cedar Rapids maintains a restoration information site for the entire project:

http://www.cedar-rapids.org/city-news/announcements/2010/Pages/ParamountTheatreRestoration.aspx

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.

Members present enjoyed food, music, and conversation prior to the start of the annual meeting.  Father Joe Roost provided entertainment on an Allen R211 donated for the occasion by chapter president Darren Ferreter.   After the meal, prepared by Jackie MacVey, Darren Ferreter and Ralph McDowell, the meeting commenced.

Darren Ferreter took the membership through a review of pre-flood activities, including the April 2008 Pipe Organ Encounter with organist Steven Ball.   After reviewing the business at hand, Darren presented a report on the experiences since June 12, 2008, when the floodwaters of the Red Cedar River innundated downtown Cedar Rapids and changed the focus of CRATOS from preservation to recovery and restoration.

Many of the photos found in the CRATOS Gallery were displayed, along with updates on both CRBI (Cedar Rapids Barton Inc.), CRATOS, and available information from the City of Cedar Rapids on the fate of the city-owned Wurlitzer and Paramount Theatre.

Special recognition for their involvement in the theatre organ, and with the Paramount’s Mighty Wurlitzer in particular, were presented to two long-standing members of CRATOS.  George Baldwin and Jim Olver (unable to attend) were provided with commerative plaques in recognition of their service and support.

The meeting closed with the challenges of the organization clearly identified.  All members and the public must come together to ensure that the Mighty Wurlitzer and Rhinestone Barton are restored and returned to their original homes so that they might entertain future generations and restore Cedar Rapids to it’s unique place as one of the few cities left in the world with two theatre organs in their original homes.

The Paramount’s Balaban 1A Wurlitzer console, severely damaged by the June 2008 flooding, has been in temporary storage since June 18th, 2008.  Getting the remaining console pieces into a climate controlled environment was key in preserving the remaining portions for future restoration work.

The Iowa (TCR) Rhinestone Barton was moved to a warehouse section of The History Center several weeks ago, awaiting the completion of preparations on the organ restoration room.  With the major preparations completed it was time to move both consoles into the same room for the first time ever.

RCRV and The History Center have worked steadily to convert the former 1940s car dealership building into the new headquarters for the console restorations of both instruments.  With original tin ceilings still largerly intact, a full showroom front on 2nd Avenue and 6th Street SE, air conditioning, and plenty of space, CRATOS and CRBI (Cedar Rapids Barton Incorporated) have a new, temporary home from which to launch the next chapter in the lives of both organs.

CRATOS and CRBI are grateful to The History Center, RCRV, and Mike Wilson for their efforts in securing and converting the new, temporary home for the organ consoles.  The next chapter in the fate of these incredible, unique instruments is about to begin!

Ferreter, Kelzenberg and Marple attended the July 6, 2008 annual membership meeting at the request of Ken Double, ATOS President and CEO.  At the start of the meeting, attended by an estimated 200 members of ATOS from around the world, Ken Double asked CRATOS to speak to the membership on the condition of the Mighty Wurlitzer and Rhinestone Barton organs of Cedar Rapids.

Mr. Ferreter expressed that “many of the arts and entertainment venues of Cedar Rapids were devastated by the flood.  The Paramount Theatre sustained damage from 8 1/2 feet of water at stage level”.  He went on to say that CRATOS will need the help of the international theatre organ community to bring the Wurlitzer and Barton organs back to the public.

Colonel Jack Moelmann, a long-time friend of CRATOS and a performer at the Paramount Theatre’s Wurlitzer as recently as 2001, joined Mr. Ferreter and presented a donation of $1,000 to CRATOS in support of the organs and the chapter.

Prior to the annual meeting, Darren Ferreter (President), David Kelzenberg (Vice President) and Neal Marple (Secretary) attended a July 5 concert by Walt Strony, another long-time friend of CRATOS, which featured the world premiere of the new Allen Organ Company STR-4 Four-Manual Walt Strony Signature Quantum™ Organ.  The concert was held in the Indiana Theatre, Terre Haute, where over 100 local residents joined the mass of ATOS convention attendees in hearing a theatre organ in this beautiful theatre for the first time in many years.

CRATOS has been the official caretaker of the Paramount Theatre’s Mighty Wurlitzer organ since 1969. The City of Cedar Rapids, which owns both the Paramount and the Wurlitzer – a matching set since 1928, and now one of just 36 original installations still in existance – has consistently entrusted CRATOS with the task of ensuring the organ remains an inseperable part of the theatre and the community.

CRATOS is working with the City of Cedar Rapids on the next steps in the process of saving this magnificent piece of musical and cultural history. CRATOS is a non-profit organization which exists solely on membership fees and chartiable contributions from the public. Now, more than ever, CRATOS needs your help to ensure the organization can continue caring for the Mighty Wurlitzer theatre organ.

CRATOS is also working with Cedar Rapids Barton Inc (CRBI), which owns and maintains the incredible “Rhinestone Barton” organ at Theatre Cedar Rapids.  This unique example of 1927 Barton-Wangerin theatre organs experienced severe damage to its console during the flooding in Cedar Rapids and is currently awaiting removal from the theatre for a more thorough damage assessment.

How you can help:

Charitiable contributions made to CRATOS, a 501(c)3 non profit organization, will be applied to the CRATOS general fund, which supports the efforts to preserve and maintain both the Paramount Wurlitzer and the Rhinestone Barton.  Your generosity is greatly appreciated. Please help CRATOS in our efforts to save these cultural treasures of Cedar Rapids.  We look forward to the day when the theatres and the organs are once again heard and enjoyed by the public.

Donate Now

Online donations are available through a secure PayPal service.  Click on the “Donate” button on the right to complete your online donation.

You may also send a check to CRATOS via US Postal service at the following address:

The Cedar Rapids Area Theatre Organ Society
PO Box 611
Cedar Rapids, IA 52406-0611
US ]]> http://www.cr-atos.org/?feed=rss2&p=34 0 http://www.cr-atos.org/?p=22 http://www.cr-atos.org/?p=22#comments Sat, 21 Jun 2008 03:57:10 +0000 nmarple http://www.cr-atos.com/?p=22 In the midst of all of the activity over the past many days, we have been fortunate to have a significant amount of media interest in the story of the Paramount, and our Mighty Wurlitzer.

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.

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.