December 24 – December 31, 2010

 The end of another year – 0h my – where does it go!!!

Here is what we have been doing over the past week:

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we had a great time at the Clubhouse with our fellow SKPs – lots of good food, good company and good music.

On Monday, we all did a road trip Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa, Arizona – what an incredible experience.  Here is some information from the internet:

“Its primary attraction is as the home of what it claims is the largest Wurlitzer theater organ in the world.^[1] Powered by three turbine blowers (with a fourth as a standby) it has more than 5,500 pipes. The original organ was built for the Denver Theater and was installed in 1927. It saw service there until the 1930s. Rebuilt in 1975, including pieces from other Wurlitzers, it eventually ended up as a 78 rank organ.”

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“During the early silent film era, motion picture theatres throughout the country engaged pit orchestras and pianists to provide the background music for their stage shows and silent movies.  With the escalating costs of musician labor, not every performance could afford the expense of an orchestra.  This monetary constraint was the inspiration for the concept of a "unit orchestra," where one musician could do the work of many.

The unit orchestra, later known as the theatre pipe organ, was designed with imitative orchestral tones in mind, rather than the customary liturgical sounds found in church instruments.  The theatre organ has been described as part military band, part symphony orchestra and part theatrical sound effects.

During the late teens and early twenties, nearly every theatre, large and small installed theatre pipe organs.  Though they were manufactured by many companies, the Wurlitzer product was considered by far the best.  The "Mighty Wurlitzer" enjoyed familiarity with such names as Frigidaire, Victrola, and Kodak.

Organ Stop's Wurlitzer theatre organ was built for the Denver Theatre and was installed in 1927.  The organ was used regularly until the early 1930s.  With the advent of the talking picture and the 1930s depression, the organ was rarely heard.  It was silenced when a fire in the auditorium caused extensive damage to the organ's relay.

In the theatre, the organ was a style 260, having a three-manual console and 15 ranks/sets of pipes.  Organ Stop purchased the instrument in the early 1970s and undertook the mammoth task of rebuilding the instrument.  Several additions were made to the instrument by acquiring parts from other ill-fated Wurlitzers.  The resulting 23 rank organ was installed in our original facility in 1975.

The enlargement and improvement of this instrument has been an ongoing project... In 1997, a larger four manual console was added to the instrument.  The new console is an exact replica of a "Fox Special" French case, ornamented to match the famous Brooklyn Paramount Wurlitzer.  This is the largest console type ever designed and built by Wurlitzer.  Through the years, several rare sets of pipes have been added to the organ, including a massive set of 32' wood diaphones (visible from the front of the building).  As of 2006, the organ boasts nearly 6000 pipes.  The massive quantities of wind required for operation are provided by four huge turbine blowers (visible from the outside of the building in the blower complex).  The resulting instrument is the largest Wurlitzer theatre organ in the world!

The building's design is expressly for the enjoyment of patrons, with the organ installed in four chambers at one end of the restaurant..  Forty-three foot ceilings provide unparalleled acoustics.  The console is "presented" on an 8000 pound rotating hydraulic elevator.  Many of the percussions (such as the xylophones, glockenspiels, drums, etc.) are installed in the dining room for greater audience appeal.”

http://www.organstoppizza.com/welcome.htm

Here are the numbers:

• 4 manuals - 61 keys each
• pedalboard - 32 keys
• 422 stopkeys (red denote reeds, amber for strings, ivory for flues)
• 113 combination action pistons and toe studs
• 5 expression pedals: Foundation, Main, Solo, General, and Crescendo
• 5 toe levers controlling traps and reversible stops
• 2 drawers housing 327 switches controlling various selective stops, sound effects, theatrical lighting and effects, and other console functions “

Now here are the pictures:

The Mighty Wurlitzer – see the numbers above:

And the rest of the building – there were instruments ALL OVER – what great sound and what an incredible show – WOW:

     

Even the pussycats performed – :-))):

    

And it is all controlled by this one gentleman – AMAZING!

Andy and Pete getting ready to enjoy the show:

Joyce, me, and Carolyn:

 

 

We all had a great time!

Tuesday, Norval and Kay stopped by on their way towards Yuma and we had lunch – it was good to see them again.

Pam and Steve who we met in Albuquerque and last saw in Pahrump are back in the park and it was great to get caught up with them.    We hope to see everyone in Quartzsite next month.

On Friday, New Year’s Eve, we had a great party at the clubhouse.  We watched the ball drop in New Year (10 PM here), then the party ended – HA!

We are still getting settled in our new (to us) home.  We have been arranging, then rearranging; organizing then reorganizing…. we will get there soon.   We did get shelves put in by the dinette for my printer.   Also some shelves in the washer/dryer cabinet (did I tell you I sold the washer/dryer) – now all my pots are together – Yea!!

I have not been doing any beading nor sightseeing because….well, I haven’t been feeling well..   In short, for the past two months, I have had a lot of facial pain.  In November, I did two rounds of antibiotics and no change.  Since it has been getting progressively worse, I went to Urgent Care this past week.  After an exam, blood work, and x-rays, we are trying steroids and painkillers for the next week.  (My sinuses are extremely swollen and irritated – which is why I am having so much pain).   So hopefully we will get to the bottom of why they are swollen…    Andy said maybe I am allergic to something in the desert and we will have to winter in PA – LOL!!!   I told him I am also allergic to the cold and snow – LOL!!!

Speaking of weather, we are in the middle of a cold spell – it is in the 20’s at night – BRRRR!!!   It is supposed to warm up next week – Yea!!!!

Have a very HAPPY, HEALTHY, and BLESSED 2011!