FORMER
4/20 Wurlitzer |
Delzer Residence 
Bismarck, North Dakota

History of the Style Publix 1 Wurlitzer Organ at the Delzer Residence

 

This Style Publix 1 Wurlitzer organ (Opus 1848) was originally built in 1928 for the Minnesota Theatre (36-40 9th St. & Hennepin Ave.) in downtown Minneapolis, MN. The instrument was mismatched to the Minnesota Theatre; the auditorium seated a little over 4,000. At that size, the Publix #1 Model Wurlitzer was fairly lost in such a huge space once the seats were filled. However, it is apparent that the musical qualities of the Minnesota Wurlitzer were pretty good overall. There are at least three selections by famed Midwest organist Eddie Dunstedter that have survived. "If I Had You" and "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" being two of them. Even for 1928/'29 recordings, the cavernous acoustics of the Minnesota are in evidence. The organ console was mounted on a revolving lift located in the house-left end of the orchestra pit.

The Wurlitzer has fared much better after leaving its original home. The Minnesota (called the "Radio City" in the last years of its existence) was torn down in 1959. The Wurlitzer found its way into the hands of Reiny Delzer of Bismarck, North Dakota who installed it in his home in 1961. In a probably rare instance of theatre organ history, Eddie Dunstedter, the same organist who originally dedicated the organ in 1928 in Minneapolis, once again dedicated it with an inaugural concert on January 28, 1961 after its installation in the Delzer residence was completed in 1960. To make room for the Publix 1 Wurlitzer, Reiny Delzer sold his 2/6 Marr & Colton organ to his neighbors across the street; Chuck and Fran Welch. With two organs on one block, their area of Bismarck was nicknamed "organ hill."

 

The Delzer Wurlitzer was the focal point of the 1963 American Theatre Organ Enthusiasts convention. Dunstedter was at the bench again, much to his own delight and to all of those heard him play. George Wright also performed at this convention. As neither the Welch nor the Delzer residences were large enough to accommodate the full convention crowd, a pipe had been installed underneath Avenue F in Bismarck, which connected the music rooms of both homes via a state of the art sound system. That way, when the music room at either home became crowded, some of the attendees could walk across the street to the other home's music room and enjoy the concert via the sound system. It was said that the sound system in each house was so incredible that it was not an issue for audiences to enjoy hearing either organ play through it. This pipe was removed by construction workers years later when it was disturbed during renovations to Avenue F.

 

After the Red River Theatre Organ Society was organized in 1965, the Delzer Wurlitzer, already familiar to members of the new ATOS chapter, was a frequent destination for chapter meetings as Reiny was a friend to many chapter members and later belonged to RRTOS himself.

 

Reiny Delzer died in 1985 at age 80, and around that time, the organ was sold and it went to a private installation in Middleton, Wisconsin (home of Bob Gilson) where it was installed and enlarged by David L. Junchen. Ranks added at the Gilson studio included: English Horn, Horn Diapason, Salicional, Voix Celeste, Krumet, Spitzflute, Spitzflute Celeste and Trompette en Chamade. It is believed that the original Dulciana was not included. Gilson also had a set of 32' Diaphone beaters and built new resonators for the set.

 

Much of the preceding information was obtained from Pipe Organ List website.

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NOTE: No Instrument Specification sheet from the time it was installed in the Delzer Residence is available for this instrument.