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Can't Northlandz just hire a couple gung ho proverbial music geeks, preferably TPO (Theatre Pipe Organ) geeks, for a couple few years? If you see how 'Look Mum No Computer' does all he does on a weekly basis, then you might see you guys are over thinking it! Sure have some experts on hand for advice, but a couple of good employees with their time dedicated specifically to the organ can make it pay off for everyone. There is also a possibility you can sell the organ internally, even to a corporate head that is not an owner, then do crowd funding, and they keep the organ on the premises under a 25 year contract or something. The worlds largest theatre pipe organ at the Carmex Lip Balm factory is actually owned by the company president, not the company. So it _can_ be done. You need a mix of brawn and brains to get this done. Too much of one without the other and it won't work. Younger is better, and they cost less. Be sure they are great communicators and can do what the experts out their explain to them.

Get the Wurlitzer Pipe Organ fixed, and Playing again !!!!!

Pulling keys up on the Hammond like you did will actually destroy the keying action. It is not designed to be pulled on. It allows you to play a chord and take your other hand(s) to play along with the chord. Does this place still exist?

I saw some videos from the RUclips Channel LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER, and they showed how a man collected an old dilapidated pipe organ and its wall-mounted console and put it in his museum, and not only did he refurbish it, rank by rank, but he also got rid of the bundled wire cables and used a series of Arduino processors to turn it into a MIDI controlled organ. That organ is small compared to this huge beast, but it may be possible to do the same thing to this one.

Amazing. I'd pay good money just to go here, walk around and look at the synths without even touching them. It'd be amazing just to breathe it all in

Hey D.J thanks for the video, great history about this place and Pipe Organ, i hope one day someone will fix it up like new

Save the organ

I played the Wurlitzer in 1998 as a kid (I was 12 at the time) and remember almost everything worked. It is so sad to see the organ in the state it is in. Back then I was a member of an organization called the Garden State Theater Organ Society (GSTOS), who often assembled knowledgable volunteers to rebuild theater organs like this that need the necessary repairs. That is in my opinion the best bet for the future of this organ. As it sounds the current owners have no interest in paying to restore it, volunteers (if they are still around..) can save it.

Never blow into a reed pipe

A big mistake is to let people trample through the organ chambers! The damage is self-evident and maybe souvenir hunters for parts that are missing? If it's not going to be restored, then sell it to an organisation that will?

Well, it was instantly obvious why the pipe organ wasn't able to be played. The leather on one of the bellows was completely rotted, allowing most of the air needed for the pipes to escape! I visited there in 2007, and it's sad to see that organ in its current condition.

and people say new jersey sucks

Waltz is universally the most fire beat ever

I have a Viscount B3 clone from earlier this year, it's cool to see where the company was in the past!

In the UK people are fanatical about these organs are getting people to work on them isn't a problem. There are still many organs in churches, etc, so organ building skills are still alive and being passed on to younger generations.. The problem is finding people to play them.. There's a 22 rank Compton organ close to where I live. There is a team of organ fans that look after it, but access to plating it is limited to fine players, only...

There’s an organization that builds and restores organs, APOBA (associated pipe organ builders of America). I hope that this information gets their way to find a resource to save this work of art. I heard it played by Bruce in 1998 and never forgot it!

Not a lost art.

Not good blowing into reed pipes. And they’re tin/lead alloy, not aluminum.

If none of the voices stops play, maybe the rectifier (DC supply) is dead.

Big reason why this Oregon is no longer in use is mainly because it's a Hodge podge of parts for many different manufacturers. And the organ never did sound quite right. Combine that with high upkeep costs. And how good Allen organs began to sound around the early 2000. It was just easier and cheaper to rely on thead of a Frankenstein machine that Bruce didn't fully understand what was in it and how it worked.

There's a lot of folks in the area who work on pipe organs! I believe the relay is the main reason that it doesn't play, and a lot of the wind chests and things weren't fully restored before they were installed.

During the great theatre organ revival in the 1950s-1980s, many instruments that had survived the junking/WWII scrap drives of the 30s and 40s, were saved by enthusiasts and restored to play again, and the American Theatre Organ Enthusiasts (ATOE), soon renamed ATOS (...Society) was formed. This group (which are still very much around, and have a current website!) also helped save a number of theatres themselves from the wrecking ball, no small feat. Besides organs preserved in their original locations (aka an "original installation"), numerous other theatre organs of all sizes were moved from their original theatre homes into other theatres; lodge and rec halls; churches(!); private homes; musical instrument museums; other type museums (such as science, car and even motorcycle museums!) and even restaurants and pizza parlors (there was a big fad for this in the 1970s). Some are still in those second or third homes today.

Have You tried contacting the American Theatre Organ Society ? They would be able to give You good advice and maybe some assistance.

I suppose different folks would have their favorites (there are several competitors), but I have heard good things about the Uniflex computer relay system for pipe organs. This system is flexible and modular and can be used to run practically any size pipe organ, and the company are still around offering technical support and parts. Also, it has built in record and playback capabilities when run through the computer, so a performance could be saved and then played back later when no one is around to play, i e a self playing pipe organ. Of course, many other competing relay systems today also have this capability. I am the kind of guy that likes to save and preserve original electropneumatic relays and switchstacks from the 1920s, and they are reliable in their own way and historic (mention obsolescence-proof since unlike printed circuit boards, they can be rebuilt on an average workbench), but I agree they add even more routine pneumatic and electrical maintenance to the already routine maintenance of the windchests (pipe chests), regulators, tremulants and percussion and swell actions. For a place on a shoestring budget, where the pipe organ is a side attraction and not the main one, and a maintenance budget is typically slim, that's not really feasible, so IMO a computer relay is the way to go. Plus I presume there will already be computer-savvy volunteers there who can be taught about how the compiter relay system works, who could help maintain it.

Another option would be for the Northlandz owners to reconnect with the GSTOS, the Garden State Theatre Organ Society, (NJ chapter of ATOS, the American Theatre Organ Society), to see if any folks/volunteers might be available to do some service work on this organ, to at least get some basic ranks playing again until more work can be done to get it on-line again. As it sits, a lot of work is needed: that blown-out regulator (wooden bellows located near the blower) is no joke, since the blower motor is designed to work with some air resistance in the line and not just running free (although conversely, it should not be totally jammed since that's even worse!). Happily, most decent theatre organ technicians know how to properly rebuild a regulator with new leather, gussets etc etc and so this can be done. Most electropneumatic (like this) and direct electric pipe organs, are built in a modular way, rather than all being self-contained in a giant case or cases like tracker (mechanical action) and tubular pneumatic (all pneumatic action) pipe organs are. This means that the individual components like windchests, ranks of pipes, regulators, tremulants, relay parts, percussions, swell motors, etc can each be demounted and transported to another location for rebuilding (moved out via the various access doors/hatches/hallways etc) and then brought back after rebuilding, and reinstalled, tested out, and troubleshot till they're working reliably. (Well, this is also true to an extent with tracker organs, depending on who built them and when; some of them though are basically shoehorned in the case, requiring major disassembly to get to just one component, vs a chamber-installed modular organ like at Northlandz, where everything *should* be laid out for accessibility without removing too much else, if there's enough chamber space). Once the organ chambers are weatherproofed, checked for any other structural or pest problems, (and the roof checked for leaks!) and the chambers are "people proofed" to deter vandals and looky-loos, and basic wind supply issues are addressed as a group (blower, regulators, wind lines and "dice boxes" which are wooden junction boxes splitting windlines, and the relay as well (I fully agree that is a "rats nest" of wiring and doesn't look safe or up to code, compared to a dozen or more very nice relay rooms I have been in, in other theatre pipe organs), then I think a basic restoration could commence, component-by-component, starting with some basic windchests for basic staple theatre organ foundation ranks (like the tibia clausa, vox humana, concert flute, and a couple of strings). And of course the ranks of pipes themselves that go on those chests. Once that much of the organ is again playing (even if only like four or six ranks to start), then the rest can be done in stages. Folks coming in to play the organ, might drum up enough interest (funding?) to get it mostly playing years from now. I have been led to believe that Marr & Colton (who apparently built the core pipe organ around which this was built/expanded) almost always used single-rank pipe chests, although sometimes mounted side-by-side on a common set of "chest bearers" (framework which holds them off the ground). If that's true, then that would make restoration even easier if going by the "one thing at a time" mantra for budget: each chest could be removed individually, rebuilt/releathered elsewhere, and then brought back and reinstalled. I have several Marr & Colton chests in my storage units and even the big 16' bourdon octave chests can be balanced on my shoulder with difficulty, or easily carried by two people. The single rank treble chests are similar in weight, but can be even easier to carry due to the shorter length. Sure beats the idea of taking out a big heavy 1000 pound 6 rank chest (like a Moller or Wurlitzer chest) with an engine hoist or block and tackle, putting it on piano dollies and getting it out with 4 or 5 strong people, and then later back in again! Of course, I have not yet been to Northlandz: if they really have a dedicated organ shop with workbenches etc where anvolunteer crew can come in and do basic rebuilding/releathering work (bring their glue pot; leather, cloth, tools etc etc) then that's even better, for tasks not involving major work / remanufacture of parts. Any components would then not necesssarily need to be transported off the premises unless they have major damage and require serious woodworking (or in the case if the flattened metal pipes, major surgery with a mandrel, and soldering, in a real pipe shop). Of course for some restoration operations, one needs a table saw, drill press, jointer etc which a well-equipped organbuilder's shop will have.

Organ rescue is a real thing. The largest theater organ in the world, in Organ Stop Pizza, was built from rescue parts. Don't junk it. Give it to a rescue organization. BUT DON'T JUNK IT! "Classical" organs are still being built. But theater organs are preserved by rescue.

The metal pipes are not aluminum. They are a lead/tin alloy. By the uniform color I'm guessing it's common metal. Yes, if the money can be found, get a restorer who specializes in theater organs.

Hi thanks for putting this video out, although as a long time organ enthusiast who has spent countless hours, days and months attempting to save what I can of some pipe organs from the dump, I have got to say that your eye-grabbing tagline in the video "This should not exist!" is not just triggering for me, but it's like a shot thru the heart, man. It's also very sad to see the state this instrument is in, due to too many random people being allowed to not only enter the organ chambers, but also apparently either run amok unsupervised, or even supervised (by people who have no idea what could cause damage, or how). While viewing the chambers, and chamber tours, could definitely become a thing if and when the organ is restored, IMO most folks should be kept away from most working parts of the instrument, not only to avoid damage but also for safety purposes. Especially in a place with so many small children running around, an organ chamber is definitely not a playground. That is not to say that young people should not get to see and hear a real live pipe organ... they definitely should, or there will be no more future generations of organ enthusiasts. However, strict supervision is key, at least until someone is an adult and can behave themselves. One could make a good analogy with the effects of kids running amok in the numerous exhibits there, knocking over trains, buildings etc. Some places with pipe organs, put the organ chamber behind glass, (and make it well lit and very presentable), so people can walk by and look in the windows to view the pipes/watch the moving parts like regulator lids, tremulants, percussion beaters, swell shutters etc., but not touch, while the organ technician(s) will still have easy access through locked doors. A great example of this presentation here on the West Coast is the large mostly-Wurlitzer theatre organ (74 ranks I think) at San Sylmar, the Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar, California. The main and solo chambers of this organ (with most of the playing ranks, and also most of the tuned percussions), are behind glass and can be viewed by interested visitors while keeping them out of the chambers. (The swell shutters are high up above, behind sound-transparent drapes).

Someone has gone inside and trashed that magnificent instrument. They know who they are. It has to be restored.

The organ is clearly in a terrible state and would take loads of money and work to be restored to good playable condition. Some of the pipes have been damaged beyond repair and areas of wiring look like rat nests. It's quite a large theatre pipe organ with 39 sets of pipes. I suspect the Northlandz organ was originally installed in the Rochester (NY) Theatre in 1927 as a 5/24 (5 manuals or keyboards/24 ranks or sets of pipes) Marr & Colton, sold when that theater was demolished in 1964, and subsequently enlarged to 39 ranks with pipes from various manufacturers, probably heavily Wurlitzer. It would still be a great buy for some interested organization or person with deep pockets and suitable space for installation. Better for Northlandz to get whatever money they could for the organ rather than leaving it there to continue deteriorating.

Im originallly from that area thank you for the interview.I hope they can get the organ restored.What was Bruce's last name?

I know this video is a year old. It is the second of yours that I have seen (first was Northlandz). My grandmother took me to church every Sunday when I was a child. There I developed my love of the organ and now I enjoy many videos about organs from around the world. Northandz was most interesting and I looked at your content and find it very informative. I'll catch them all soon.

Very interesting. Bruce truly loved the organ. It would cost a fortune to renovate that organ. I couldn't believe the pipes just laying around like trash. Whoever did that didn't know the value of that organ. An old Wurlitzer is a treasure. Hopefully it can be restored or purchased by someone who would respect and restore it.

That one reservoir needs new leather.

theater organ, cool.

I got my Master of Music in organ performance at Westminter Choir College in Princeton, NJ, have driven past Northlandz many times and never knew what it was. Thanks for this video! I must echo some other comments by saying organ building is NOT a lost art. There are many fantastic organ builders in the USA and around the world who have dedicated many decades to the art of organ building and restoration (theatre organs and classical organs alike) in churches, concert halls, schools, theatres, private residences, etc. As well, the American Guild of Organists, Organ Historical Society, American Theatre Organ Society and other such organizations work tirelessly to preserve the organ’s history, educate future organists, and promote the music associated with it. Comments such as yours describing organ building as “a lost art” do so much harm to those of us who dedicate our lives to preserving and protecting the art of the organ and exposing its music to new and veteran audiences, given the immediacy and permanence of that which goes out into the internet ether. I encourage you to seek out and speak to those of us who can and are more than willing to educate you on the state of the art. jacksonborges.com RUclips: @JacksonBorgesDMA

Restoring Wurlitzer’s is hardly a lost art. Have an organ company install a solid state relay. Releather what needs to be releathered and have pipes remanufactured as needed. Also, don’t touch the pipes or blow into them unless you know what you’re doing. I hope it gets restored one day. With a solid state relay an organ could play itself.

The Theatre Organ = The original, wind-powered orchestral synthesizer 🙂 Love working on them and playing them 🙂

An experienced organ builder could repair the pipe organ. There are several within an hour or two drive.

Please knock it off with the whole 'lost art' nonsense! I've been a pipe organ builder for more than 35 years, and on behalf of the 30+ major pipe organ builders and hundreds of technicians in North America, I want to report that our industry, far from being "lost" is, in fact, red hot! We are all so busy that we can hardly keep up. So here's to the thriving business of pipe organs! (To be clear, the Wurlitzer organ in this video is a type of organ that is no longer manufactured, but there are countless theater organs in existence, and there is also a healthy group which is shepherding them.)

I want to go. And I can play the organ. I may have to ask to play the Allen. I love trains! Great video!

AND PLEASE DON'T BLOW IN REED PIPES

🦘🇦🇺 Well worth the effort in restoring such a magnificent instrument. They are not a lost art. Much can be done in assisting the mechanics with solid state switches. Regular concerts would be an easy draw card, particularly from the Flemington area & towns along the 202. 🙏

You never blow into a reed pipe with your mouth. It tarnishes and corrodes the brass reed of that note.

This Wurlitzer is a candidate for a skilled restoration. Hundreds of man hours but worth the effort and expense. It could be a major attraction with a roster of skilled performers. Theatre organs are rare, but not extinct.

Pipe organs are not a totally lost art. A number of cities have theater organ societies. For instance Chicago has CATOE. Wisconsin has the Dairyland Theater Organ Society. These groups have restored numerous theater organs and schedule concerts. The world's largest pipe organ is in Atlantic City, at Boardwalk Hall. It is being restored.

D.J., you look a LOT like a guy I went to college with whose name I don't remember. Did your father or uncle go to Lawrence University in the late '70s?

Thanks for interviewing me! Had a lot of fun and I occasionally go into Northlandz to volunteer still!

Such a shame to see the organ fading away. Thanks for sharing

Northlandz organ review video will come out soon!