FORMER
2/8 Wangerin |
Grace Lutheran Church 
Fargo, North Dakota

History of the 2/8 Wangerin Organ at Grace Lutheran Church

 

The former 2/8 Wangerin Theatre Organ which was housed at Grace Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Fargo, ND was originally built for a theatre in Wisconsin in the late-1920s. It was repossessed by the Wangerin Company and sold to Grace Lutheran Church of Fargo, ND in 1938. Very little "churchifying" was done except the percussions and toy counter were left at the factory.

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The organ was installed in a small, single chamber at Grace and, because of the lack of space, the manual chests were crisscrossed. The organ ran on 10" of wind and spoke into the church with great authority.

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Lance Johnson, President of the Johnson Organ Company of Fargo, ND, rebuilt and enlarged the instrument (a Mixture and Principal chorus among other things were added) and a formal rededication recital took place on January 21, 1983, with Lloyd Collins as guest recitalist. Both Johnson and Collins were members of the Red River Theatre Organ Society, and with the Wangerin being one of few remaining functioning theatre organs in the area, several RRTOS meetings and programs were held at the church over the years.

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Around 2022, RRTOS began plans for a long-overdue meeting and program/concert at Grace, but these plans never materialized as the instrument was replaced in early 2023 by a 3-manual drawknob Allen digital organ. Console was removed by Allen and the pipework was split up, with the Tibia being installed by RRTOS on the 3/12 Wurlitzer at A Center for the Arts in Fergus Falls, MN, and the Concert Flute being saved for future installation on the 4/32 Wurlitzer at the Fargo Theatre.

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The instrument specification for this instrument may be found by viewing the stop rail photos in the photo gallery below.