The San Francisco Fox Wurlitzer

Imagine yourself among the five thousand leading San Francisco citizens and celebrities gathering at Ninth and Market Streets to participate in the opening of the magnificent Fox Theatre, built and furnished at a cost of nearly five million dollars.

You enter the lobby through solid brass doors, and exchange your invitation for a dedication program with a yellow, blue, and green cover design depicting the front of the theatre and the announcement:

Fox Theatre, San Francisco
Dedicated to California
Friday, June 28, 1929

You pass into the main lobby and you are awestruck by the magnificence of the decor and furnishings [represented here in 1929 dollar values] . . .

• the lobby carpet is 80 feet long and 40 feet wide, costing $39,000
• the exquisite, vases brought over from the courts of the Czars at $3000 each
• the Louis XIV architecture designed from Sixteenth Century splendor

You gaze slowly upwards to the domed roof 75 feet overhead, illuminated to bring out the walnut paneling and the gold trim of the ornate columns arid scroll work. Over the heads of the invited celebrities you see the grand staircase of imported Italian marble, richly carpeted. You then become aware of subdued organ music of the richly decorated lobby organ built by Moller at a cost of $15,000.

Words from the golden-tassled brochure . . .

You anxiously await that part of the program where the "World's largest orchestral organ" takes over the spotlight with Jamie Erickson at the console. What an organ! What a console! After that thrilling experience, you settle down for the stage show that includes a presentation of famous Hollywood stars. The Master of Ceremonies is none other than Will Rogers.

Gentle reader, you have participated in the scene of the opening night of this fabulous theatre, seating 4651 and described as the largest west of the Mississippi. Built through the cooperation of the Bank of America, and leased to the Fox West Coast Theatres just at the time of the 1929 market crash, which resulted in the loss of many fortunes including that of William Fox, the theatre has shared good times and bad with the rest of the movie palaces throughout the country. But at the night of the opening, few probably could foresee the future, and the opening program was notable by the pomp and splendor and the personalities involved.

The theatre is enormous ...

• 212 feet from screen to projectors
• Stage is 75 feet wide and 43 feet deep
• The ceiling dome is 110 feet from above the main floor
• The balcony supporting truss has a depth of 20 feet, is 145 feet long, and weighs 160 tons
• The fulcrum [main supporting] girder is 110 feet long, weighs 70 tons, and was installed in one piece
• The building is ten stories high
• There is a 39-seat private theatre on the 9th floor for theatre executives' use, together with a suite of offices.

	CLICK THUMBNAILS TO VIEW LARGER PHOTOS OF THE ONCE-GLORIOUS FOX THEATRE IN SAN FRANCISCO

The Organ

Opus 1458 Paramount, New York City (1926)

Opus I894 Fox, Detroit (1928)

Opus 1904, Fox, Brooklyn (1928)

Opus 1997 Fox, St. Louis (1928)

The organ is laid out in five chambers under expression, with percussion instruments in the open on each side of the theatre and the 32' foot octave of the Diaphone is unenclosed behind the proscenium arch. The Main and Foundation are on the left side while Orchestral, Solo, and Percussion are on the right.

There are 2' extensions (the three Tibia Clausa, the Concert Flute, the Lieblich Flute, and the Viol D'Orchestre), and eleven 16' extensions (Tuba Mirabilis, English Horn, Diaphonic Diapason, the three Tibia Clausa, Horn Diapason, Solo String 25", Bourdon, Clarinet, Tuba Horn).

The 32' Diaphone is a real bulb shaker and extremely effective in the theatre. A ventil control switch is provided at the console to disconnect the stop tablet against accidental use.

THE RELAY contains fourteen relay trays and seven switch stacks, totaling 354 individual switches. There are three relay trays for the Great, two for the Accompaniment, one for Accompaniment second touch, one for Great second touch, one for Great couplers, one for Pedal, one for Pedal Pizzicato, two for Bombarde, and two for the Solo.

It is interesting to note the number of contacts required for the various manuals:

Pedal 37
Pedal Pizzicato 6
Accompaniment 57
Accompaniment second touch 20
Great 92
Great Second touch 4
Great Coupler 4
Bombarde 40
Solo 52

The cable from the relays to the switch stacks contains nearly 18,000 wires! There are also two sostenuto trays, and two separate pizzicato relay trays for the Great and Accompaniment, as well as the shutter coupler control, sostenuto switches, and more.

THE BLOWER ROOM contains two 50-h.p. Spencer Orgoblo's with direct-mounted generators of 50-amp. capacity.One of the blowers is a standby in case of emergency. The blowers are rated at 4000 CFM at 15" and 2500 CFM at 25". Gate valves are provided in each of the two air lines from each blower to shut off the line to the idle blower to prevent air blowing back.

THE MAIN CONSOLE: The top of the four-manual console is flat, without the high checks usually found on the large organs. The embossing is elaborate with designs carried on all surfaces except for the unornamented back. The effect is elegant.

There are six swell pedals -- a general swell and separate pedals for each of the five chambers -- plus a crescendo pedal. There are five non-reversible piano-type pedals for Sforzando Organ, Sforzando snare, drum, cymbal, bass drum, thunder Tibia, 32' Diaphone, Tuba Mirabilis, and one toe piston to operate a signal to the operator's booth.

The pedal organ has seven stops on the front board under the second touch nameplate which are actually a special Tibia Clausa Pizzicato section operating on first touch. There are three 16' Tibia stops, three 8' Tibia stops and one Tibia ensemble stop which fires all six of the stops just listed. These are operated through the pedal pizzicato relay mentioned previously.

There are several "Ensemble" stops on the console, which operate all of the named functions at the given pitch. For instance, on the Solo Bolster, there is a String Ensemble stop, which controls separate switches for the following ranks: Viol d'Orchestre, Viol Celeste, Salicional, Gamba, Gamba. Celeste, Solo String #1, and Solo String #2. The 25" Solo String in the Solo Chamber is riot included. However, there are ensemble switches for the Tibias, Voxes, Chrysoglotts, etc., on the organ controlled by their respective stops. This accounts for the larger number of switches in the relay room than there are stops. The sound effects are controlled by pushbuttons mounted on two panels, one on each side and under the manual shelf, which swing out for use.

It would appear that only 34 of the 36 ranks are available on the Great. Actually, there are 34 ranks drawn at 8' pitch and one rank (the Harmonic Flute, drawn at 4' pitch) for a total of 35. (Recall that the String stop tablet draws two ranks.) The English Horn is not available on the Great, being the only rank omitted on this manual.

There are 17 tremolos controlled by 13 stop tablets. The Orchestral tremolo stop controls 2; the Foundation, 2; the Main, 2; the Solo, 2 -- these in addition to the singly controlled tremolos for the Vox Humana, Tibia Clausa, Tuba, etc. The Diaphonic Diapason in the Foundation Chamber is without a tremolo entirely which lends considerable stability to the tone of the organ when included in combination.

The three Tibia Clausa are always in the following order: Orchestral, Foundation, Solo; the four Vox Humana: Orchestral, Foundation, Solo, Main. The Solo String No. I and No. 2 are always drawn together as a two-rank stop. This is not to be confused with the 25" Solo String in the Solo Chamber which is the third solo string in the organ. It will be remembered that Solo String No. I and No. 2 are in the Solo and Orchestral Chamber respectively.

There are two Brass Trumpet stops -- Solo Trumpet and Trumpet, the former being the brass trumpet in the Foundation Chamber, and the Trumpet in the Solo Chamber. The Sleigh Bells are drawn only on the Solo manual. The piano has only one Mandolin stop (on the Accompaniment) and it affects all manuals, as is usual on all Wurlitzers.

The second-touch pizzicato and tremolo stop tablets are mounted in two rows on the front board and are not the usual short front board stop tablets, but are of regular length. The bottom row is recessed to prevent interference with playing the solo manual; the top row is recessed another inch or so still further back.

There are five swell pedal position indicators mounted in the center of the top bolster, one each for the Orchestral, Foundation, Solo, Main, and General swell pedals. The Sostenuto ventil switches are located in the left key cheek of the Accompaniment and Great manuals.

The round inlaid chamber indicators over each stop are engraved to indicate the various chambers follows:

Orchestral ~ a red dot

Foundation ~ a black ring

Solo ~ a black dot

Main ~ no engraving

Percussions ~ two concentric circles

Unenclosed Percussion

Solo side ~ black dot and circle

Main side ~ no engraving

The Piano, an upright Wurlitzer of 88 notes, has an electro-vacuum action with four stages of vacuum which varies the piano's volume as the swell pedal is operated, accomplished by having wires to each of the four stages connected into the general swell pedal contacts at appropriate intervals. Each stage allows a progressively greater or lesser amount of air at atmospheric pressure to be admitted to the vacuum line in a simple muffler box installed in the base of the piano case. The more air admitted to the vacuum line, the lower the vacuum, and the softer the piano plays. This is a standard feature on Wurlitzers.

The General Swell Pedal has the piano sustaining control button on the upper right hand corner. The mandolin attachment is simply a small wooden rod, hinged on each end of the piano, to which are attached leather fingers, each of which has a small metal clip on the end. The hinged arrangement allows one of the fingers to drop into place in front of each piano hammer, resulting in the metal clip on the end of each finger being struck by the piano hammer and in turn striking the piano wire and producing the peculiar metallic twang so common to this attachment. Its position is controlled by a small pneumatic mounted inside the piano case, and controlled by the Mandolin stop of the Accompaniment manual bolster.

Located in the console interior are the combination action chests, with an on and off magnet and a primary pneumatic for each stop, as well as the pneumatics controlling the stop action itself on the bolsters. There are two main bolsters containing the two top rows of stops, with an auxiliary double bolster on each side which contains the two bottom rows of stop tablets. The Auxiliary bolster completely disconnects from the console wind supply by means of a set of two connection blocks for the lead tubing. A latch arrangement locks them to a wind-tight position. Were it not for this arrangement, it would be nearly impossible to service these stops when necessary. The Crescendo Patch Board, also located in the back of the console, is constructed in two hinged units due to the large number of stops which can be operated by the crescendo pedal. This unit makes it possible to "plug in" whichever stops are wanted in any sequence as the Crescendo pedal is depressed.

THE STAGE CONSOLE is just a shell containing four manuals, pedals, combination pistons and one general swell pedal. The stop tabs are dummies. The only operating parts on the stage console are the manuals and pedals, combination pistons, and the one swell pedal. There is also a disconnect switch which operates a series of switches in the relay room to completely disconnect these functions from the main console.

THE ORGANISTS who have passed their fingers over the manuals with varying degrees of success are numerous. Some simply gave up after trying it once, others carried on for years. Following Jamie Erickson (who played only for the opening week) were Charles "Doc" Wilson who played the organ with the orchestra until 1941 and Mel Hertz who played the Saturday Night Sings from 1933 until 1941. George Wright was house organist from 1941 to late 1944. Everett Nourse took over when George Wright left for New York. There also have been other short-term substitute organists from time to time.

The organ was never featured in a solo spot until George Wright's tenure, except for the opening week, being used almost exclusively for fill-in spots and to accompany Saturday night sings. A really big change, made by George Wright when he started as featured organist, was the removal of the heavy drapes hanging in the organ screens on each side of the theatre which greatly stifled the organ's highs. Remaining is only a very thin gauze curtain of gold thread with an overlayed design. Quite transparent and of light weight, it is practically of no hindrance to the sound egress from the chambers.

Everett Nourse still remains as staff organist whenever the instrument is used. The writer and Bob Jacobus of Vallejo have endeavored to maintain the organ in the best possible condition. Recent maintenance activities have resulted in the replacement of all dead magnets, over 100 being required throughout the relay room, console and chambers! Mechanically the organ is in very good condition, and tuning remains the one big maintenance job.

San Francisco Bids Farewell to the Fox by Allen White Hedda Hopper proclaimed from the stage, "I just cannot understand why this is happening!" Local columnist Herb Caen wrote, "It's a wonder they didn't tear it down sooner." With these two contrasting statements, the fabulous Fox Theatre closed its brass doors as the "Showplace of the West" on Saturday, February 16, 1963. The Fox management presented four farewell events before the curtain fell for the final time. The "farewells" began on Friday night, February 8, at midnight. The theatre audience, jammed to its 4,651-seat capacity, witnessed organist George Wright and the 36-rank Crawford Special Wurlitzer theatre organ rise slowly out of the orchestra pit. This Friday night crowd was composed of many persons unable to purchase tickets for the Saturday night affair that had sold out two weeks in advance. Saturday evening was George Wright's final "Farewell to the Fox." Honky-Tonk Train, Jerome Kern's Showboat, The Burning of Rome, Fascination, and Indian Love Call were just a few of the many selections played. Midway through the second half of the program, George Wright removed his tie and coat, reminiscent of the many nights when he played alone in the theatre after closing time. Then the end came. With the playing of I Left My Heart in San Francisco and San Francisco, the organ console slowly descended into the orchestra pit. Both the organist and audience realized that the marquee would never again announce the appearance of "George Wright at the Fox Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ." The following Saturday evening, February 16, was the last night that William Fox's "greatest theatre in the world" would open as an entertainment cathedral. Those who were fortunate enough to obtain tickets arrived to see a searchlight shining into the night sky. Upon entering the lobby, the sound of the lobby Moller organ was heard emitting notes played from rolls. Some of the player rolls would not track correctly, but the organ was nonetheless heard "live" in the lobby. Many of the evening's ushers were also on duty at the theatre's opening night in 1929. How could anyone help but notice the magnificent gold-leafed ceiling, rich tapestries, and antiques that graced the lobby? Many who were to sit in the balcony rode the elevators to the top. As the elevator doors opened, all could hear organist Everett Nourse playing at the console of the Fox Wurlitzer, located almost one block away. The organ never sounded better. Under the many hours work of Judd Walton, Bob Jacobus, and Bud Perry, the instrument was in fine condition. The lights started to dim as the organ console descended into the pit. Following a short introduction by Vaughn Meader, the television production, Hollywood -- The Fabulous Era, was shown. As the film ended, Master of Ceremonies Paul Gilbert appeared on stage and announced that the overture was to begin. The rising orchestra lift revealed Ray Hackett and the Fox Symphony Orchestra, the Kaiser Koristers, and Everett Nourse at the organ. The final note of the overture included full orchestra, chorus, and organ together. To many, this could have been the finale, and most would have been satisfied. But there was more -- much more. A stage show followed, featuring vaudeville "greats" such as Joaquin Garay and Eddie Peabody. And there were motion picture and recording stars by the carload: Kay Starr, Jane Russell, Richard Egan, Lois Moran, Jane Wyman, Hedda Hopper, and a host of others. Under the direction of Herman Kersken, the first manager of the Fox, the show was exceptionally well produced. When the curtain went up for the finale, the entire cast was on stage. There was no set and only the bare back wall framed the scene. As members of the cast sang Auld Lang Syne, they slowly left the stage, leaving only one work light glowing. With the stage bare, the orchestra and organ console hidden at the bottom of the orchestra pit, one lone stagehand walked across the vast stage, put out his cigarette, and turned off the work light. The San Francisco Fox Theatre would soon be reduced to dust. After the show, Ray Hackett and his orchestra played for dancing on the stage. During the break before the dancing, the organ was played. It marked the final time the public would hear this organ in the theatre. EPILOGUE Sunday, February 17, 1963. The candy and popcorn have been removed and replaced by sales books. The projectors are silent. Guards have replaced ushers. Tickets have been replaced by sales tags. Everything is for sale ... except memories. A bronze door is sold for $250. A diamond horseshoe seat for $2.50. Ashtrays, 90 for $25. The sale started at 9:00 in the morning and continued until 5:00. FM radio's "Farewell to the Fox" then followed. The program was presented by local station KPEN at 8:00 p.m. The first half-hour consisted of interviews with many who were involved in the theatre's history. At 8:30, James Gabbert announced that this would be the last time the Fox Wurlitzer would be heard in its original home. Organists Everett Nourse and "Tiny" James shared the bill for one hour, concluding the broadcast with "San Francisco." A short epitaph was offered by the last manager of the Fox Theatre, Bob Apple: The Fox Theatre is dead. Born: June 28, 1929 Died: February 16, 1963 Only 34 years old

Read more about the San Francisco Fox Theatre in a separate article.

Copyright © 2002 The American Theatre Organ Society, Inc. All rights reserved.