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4/32 Wurlitzer | Fargo Theatre
The current Wurlitzer at the Fargo Theatre was built around a 1926 Style E Special Wurlitzer - a two-manual, seven-rank instrument. It was built in North Tonawanda, New York in January 1926 and was installed in the theatre in February 1926 with an opus number of 1255. However in 1927, the new technology of "talkies" emerged and the organ was used intermittently after 1929. At least through 1937, Hildegarde Kraus, the house organist at the Fargo Theatre and at WDAY radio, would use it for the radio show "Lady of the Evening." During this time it continued to be used for sing-alongs and prologues for special events. The organ was last used on March 26, 1948 for Good Friday services, after which it remained dormant for the next 25 years.
In 1958, Lance Johnson - an organist and organ builder from Fergus Falls, Minnesota, attended a movie at the theatre and saw the organ in the orchestra pit. The manager of the theatre at that time happened to be Hildegarde's husband Ed Kraus, who disliked all things organ. Lance asked to purchase the organ, and after attempting to turn it on, was hurredly turned away.
Following Ed Kraus's retirement, the Fargo Theatre was managed by several persons, each of whom seemed to dislike the organ more than the last. At this point, the theatre was failing as a commerical operation and organ enthusiasts were seen more as a liabilty, and the organ itself, a piece of junk that offered no commerical value to the business.
In 1973, Doug Owens and Marv Sopko became managers of the Fargo Theatre. Lance Johnson and Dave Knudtson - another organist in the Fargo-Moorhead community, took the Owens and Sopko out to lunch and asked to start up the organ and restore it at no cost to the theatre. Both men agreed, so long as the theatre would incur no expenses related to the projcect and that no work would interrupt the regular business hours of the theatre.
The next night, Johnson and Knudtson went to the theatre after the evening show and started work on the organ. This was in August 1973. There were many dead notes, out of tune pipes, and a dead three-phase blower motor. They worked long nights - from around 11 pm to 5 am the next day - for two nights. In November 1973, RRTOS voted to adopt the restoration as a chapter project, officially making the organ a chapter instrument. The restoration work continued and by mid-December 1973 the organ was about 80% restored. RRTOS then brought up the idea of organ prologues before the movies to the theatre management. The organ was well-received when it played the first prologue before Walt Disney's "Robin Hood" in December 1973. The prologues are still played today before various movies. [continue reading below]
Ted Larson, the film instructor at Minnesota State University Moorhead, as well as a silent film collector and RRTOS member, wanted live music for silent films with an authentic live theatre organ score. The first silent movie night at the Fargo Theatre was held on November 4, 1974 - a Thursday night (as people were not allowed to rent the theatre on weekends, due to new movie releases). The last seat for the show was sold 15 minutes before show time with many waiting outside. The theatre seated 925 patrons - 100 more than it currently holds. Lance Johnson played several prologue numbers and accompanied a sing-along with slides, then accompanied Harold Lloyd's "Kid Brother."
The next day, the Fargo Forum newspaper ran an article saying that the silent movie night was an entertainment highlight of the year. There used to be two silent movie nights per year for about 20 years following. It became apparent that an organ lift was needed to display the organ in a more prominent way, so a lift was purchased and installed around 1975. It took several silent movie nights to pay for it, but was instantly justified. In addition to Silent Movie Nights, Noon hour Christmas concerts, now known as "Holiday Pipes," were played starting in 1979 and were well attended.
To attract larger crowds to Silent Movie Night, the "Fargo Theatre Big Band All Stars" was organized in 1982. The group was already playing, but under the name of "The Scrubs" as most of the instrumentalists were doctors.
In January 1979, the RRTOS purchased a 3/8 Church Wurlitzer from First Lutheran Church of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It had no traps or effects and was on a lower wind pressure than Wurlitzer theatre organs. The RRTOS heard that there was a bid on the organ from another party. In response, they bid $100 dollars over the opposing bid and purchased the organ. The three-manual console was installed in March 1979 and the organ was expanded to a 3/9, and later a 3/15 instrument by 1986. It had an air-operated (pneumatic) relay, which was too large to have backstage. Therefore it was put in the Fly Gallery and covered in black plastic - as the roof leaked. It took a team of two people four to five weeks to wire. The organ had a 1400 wire cable that was 300 feet long, and far too heavy to lift. For several years, both the original 2-manual console and the new 3-manual console were both playable simultaneously from the auditorium until ca. 1984 when the 2-manual console was relocated to the lobby mezzanine where it initially was a static display. Later, 7 ranks of pipes were hooked up to it in the winter of 1987. It was playable as a separate instrument until about 1997.
The Fargo Theatre went under complete restoration in 1998, with a grand reopening in March 1999. The renovations completed included a new roof, remodeled lobby, and added dressing rooms backstage. The organ was removed and put into storage in five days. During the renovation, the RRTOS received a grant from Lake Agassiz Arts Council to build a new four-manual, solid-state console. The new console was installed in the Theatre January 28, 1999 and the pipes and compenents were reinstalled around February 1999. The organ was expanded to a 4/21 by 2001. Other additions in the following years to brought the organ up to 32 ranks in 2017. After the lobby organ pipework was removed, the original Style E organ console has continued to reside in the lobby mezzanine as a static display.
The Wurlitzer is played before various movies, special events, the Fargo Film Festival, Silent Movie Night, the annual Holiday Pipes noon-hour Christmas concerts, and theatre tours. It is one the largest theatre organ between Minneapolis and Seattle, and is credited with saving the Fargo Theatre from the wrecking ball.
House Organists (bolded names denote current house organists): Ramon Berry, Eddie Borgens, Mabel (Carlson) Nowak Furcht, Elsie (Thomaier) Kossick, Hildegarde (Usselman) Kraus, Clara Morris, Lance E. Johnson, Dave Knudtson, Lloyd Collins, Pat Kelly, R. Gene Struble, Tyler Engberg, Lorraine (Nelson) Jossund, Allen Moe, Steve Eneboe, Alex Swanson, Ryan Hardy, Dillon Swanson, Dylan Thiele, Alex Moe, and Elliot Sander.
Guest Artists have included Dick Leibert (1967), Leon Berry (ca. 1960s), Harvey Gustafson (1960s, 1982), Frank Scott, (1971) Russ Block (1974), Rob Richards (1977, 1979, 1999, 2005), Peter Nygaard (1980), Walt Strony (1980, 1987), Lou Hurvitz (1981), Lance Luce (1983), Mike Erie (1986), Fr. James Miller (1986), Bob Arndt (1987), Donna Parker, (1991), Jim Riggs (1993), Tom Hazelton (2001), Luke Staisiunas (2021), Kent Washburn (2022), and Elliot Sander (2023).
Other famous organists/people who have visited and played the Fargo Theatre Wurlitzer over the years include Fred Bock, Bob Ralston, Dean McNichols (ca. 1970s/'80s), Colleen Moore (yes, the silent film star!!, 1986), and Mark Herman (2024). Legendary film critic Roger Ebert was given a tour of the Fargo Theatre Wurlitzer when he visited in 2003.
Tours of the organ are available upon request.
to set up a tour contact president@rrtos.org/218-402-0667 or vicepresident@rrtos.org/701-561-8851.
Chamber Tour
January 2016
For best viewing, click on the photo below for a full size image and description.
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