Both Weiler and Jackson expect the organ to be ready to play at the theater sometime before the end of 2020.Ī pipe organ? At the Oriental Theatre? … Should I be excited about this?Ībsolutely! Like all the great cinema palaces of its era, Milwaukee Film’s Oriental Theatre was meant to have a pipe organ to accompany silent films and serenade movie lovers through the ages. The Wurlitzer obtained by Milwaukee Film began its life at the Paramount Theater in Atlanta, where it remained until the 1950s.īefore it is installed at the Oriental Theatre, some restoration work on the building will need to be completed, after which a time window for installation will be identified. Through its partnership with JL Weiler, Inc., the nonprofit Milwaukee Film was able to create a unique opportunity to secure a world-class organ for the theater, while meeting goals of sustainability and stewardship for funds from its capital campaign.
When installation is complete, audiences will hear the instrument exactly as it sounded in the 1920s. Unlike the organ previously housed at the Oriental Theatre, this 94-year-old instrument maintains the original, period elements and sound. Wurlitzer theater organs were created to be the voice of silent film. According to Weiler, this is one of only about a dozen, out of thousands of Wurlitzer pipe organs produced in the 1910s-40s, that remains in its unaltered, factory-original state. The organ was obtained through Jeff Weiler, a renowned expert in pipe organ restoration. Milwaukee Film has secured a 1925 Wurlitzer pipe organ that will be installed during its ongoing restoration work at the Oriental Theatre.
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