From her monumental and most recent work, Austin Organs, Orpha Ochse brings to light some early 1914 shop notes for the grand four-manual Spreckels orchestral concert organ: "Voice big and full for open air concert ground." Additionally the builders were directed toward the need for an "extraordinary full sound." The present enlarged instrument has been heard from a distance of approximately three miles (under favorable atmospheric conditions).

The organ boasts the largest concert hall ever --the universe! It is likened to a great hall without a roof. Several other institutions claim to have larger outdoor instruments but they fail to fit the Spreckels definition of "outdoors," which is: "When it rains, the audience gets wet!"

The organ and the pavilion were built for the Panama-California Exposition that was held in San Diego's Balboa Park to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal. The organ was first played at the opening ceremonies on New Year's Eve 1914 with an estimated 50,000 people in attendance. The complex was a gift of the sugar barons Adolph and John D. Spreckels. John D. was a prominent resident and developer of San Diego with varied interests in real estate, the newspaper, the trolley system, the water and power system and was a lover of the arts. He was the owner of the Hotel Del Coronado and his home, located near the hotel, contained a 40 rank Aeolian player pipe organ.

Since the Spreckels brothers were paying for 100% of the pavilion and organ costs, they engaged their own architect. With the Spreckels Viking and seafaring family background in mind, architect Harrison Albright combined Greek, Mediterranean, and music reliefs on the proscenia, main building, and curved colonnades.

The pavilion was designed specifically for the organ. The tone opening and its pipe facade face north so that no direct sunlight ever strikes the organ. This also protects it from the storms that generally come from the south. When not in use, the organ is sealed off by a large ten-ton metal roll-up door. The superstructure and roof of the building are of reinforced concrete with a generous attic of 20 feet or more between the roof and the organ chamber ceiling. This attic acts as a wonderful insulator against rapid temperature changes. The ceiling is compound curved in the form of a band shell to aid in the projection of the sound. The expression box ceilings are similarly sloped for the same purpose.

Spreckels funded daily concerts on the outdoor organ until his death in 1926 when the City of San Diego stepped in and funded the position of Civic Organist, providing weekly concerts. In 1935, a second exposition was held and a new console, the second, was installed. The organ has remained in continuous use, except for a brief time during World War II when the Navy took possession of Balboa Park. At the conclusion of the war, concerts resumed and a releathering program was undertaken.

During the 1960s and 1970s, cultural tastes were changing and attendance at the concerts began to wane. These became bleak years and there was even talk of leveling the pavilion in order to provide another parking lot. Other buildings in Balboa Park, dating from 1914, were in a state of crumbling disrepair and close to condemnation. Then, in stepped a tiny 75-year-old citizen-activist, Bea Evenson, who formed the "Committee of 100" to protect the unique buildings and architecture in the park. The Committee provided private matching funds to restore these treasured structures.

Virgil Fox Sounds An Alarm

In 1974, Bea's attention turned to the Pavilion and its tired organ. To raise public awareness she engaged Virgil Fox to play a concert. As usual, Virgil ignited a fire of passion in his audience of over 3,000. "How dare you allow this one of a kind treasure deteriorate into this shameful condition! We have an agreement to give you this one last concert ... This poor old girl is panting, wheezing, and stuttering in order to give you this last concert. It's up to you to give her a clean new breath for the future. She has served you faithfully for nearly 60 years. You have used up her goodness, and now she is tired and worn out. Do not fail her!"

The battle cry was heard and fund raising began. In 1978, Jared Jacobsen was selected as Civic Organist and his artistic skills added momentum to the project. In 1980, restoration work on the Pavilion and the organ was begun. The completion in 1981 brought about new civic pride and concert attendance continued to grow. Robert Plimpton became Civic Organist in 1984 and brought the program to new heights.

In 1988, under the leadership of Robert Plimpton and Vivian Evenson (a niece of Bea Evenson), the Spreckels Organ Society was formed to work cooperatively with the city to program, preserve, and promote this unique instrument.

Additional observations by Orpha Ochse: "Since 1988 support for an expanded series of recitals with an international roster of guest artists has been generated by the Spreckels Organ Society (S.O.S.). Membership campaigns, advertising, fund-raising events, and an educational outreach program have all contributed to make S.O.S. a model for organ support groups, and the Balboa Park series is arguably the most popular municipal organ program in America today."

In October 2001, Carol Williams, the first woman to hold such a position, was appointed Civic Organist.

Annual concert attendance now consistently tops 100,000. Not bad for an 87-year-old pipe organ that was subject to being turned into a parking lot in the mid 1970s. The resulting outrage of San Diego's cultural base reversed this outlandish notion. Perhaps the moral of this story of survival could be that a surprising outcome may occur when anyone takes deadly aim and attacks an American cultural and artistic icon.

In the 1980-81 restoration, Austin built a new console (the third) and all mechanical parts were rebuilt or replaced. The reed stops were shipped back to the Austin Organ Company and were retounged and revoiced under the supervision of David Broome. All flue pipes came off their chests and were cleaned and reregulated on site by the curator. During this restoration, every effort was made to preserve the original tonal and mechanical integrity of the organ.

Technical Information

The tonal design is symphonic, as was typical of major instruments of this period, and it originally consisted of 48 ranks. Throughout the intervening years it has been enlarged to 73 ranks. All additions were integrated into the original instrument with no attempt to update or modernize its original tonal concepts, and every effort was made to make the additions appear seamless in their integration.

Surprisingly, the pipe scales used in the organ are no larger than those found in indoor Austin organs of the same vintage. The mouth cut-ups, though, are generous and the Diapasons have toes that are almost fully open to take full advantage of the high wind pressures. Fan tremulants are used in the enclosed divisions.

There are two stops on the organ that are rarely found in other instruments. One is the Choir French Horn. The low octave is of traditional construction with single-tapered capped resonators. At tenor C, the pipes double in length, have a double taper, and are without caps. One might say they are Harmonic Oboes. The tone is smooth but with more bite than a normal French Horn. It is a stop that gets a lot of use.

The 32' Magnaton has over the years been an object of curiosity and not many were built by Austin. The 32' octave is composed of reed pipes with single taper metal resonators much like a Wurlitzer Diaphone. They differ from the Wurlitzer construction because they have tapered reeds instead of round beaters. The shallots are of wood. At 16' CCC, the pipes become rectangular wood Double Open Diapasons. It is possible that this stop was developed and named by Robert Hope-Jones during his brief time at Austin. The Magnaton name remained Austin's property and when he moved on to Wurlitzer, the name Diaphone was substituted in Wurlitzer's future stop nomenclature. The stop is very successful and has broad use in performance. It can be used alone under soft strings and still makes a telling difference in the full ensemble.

The added Solo Horn Tuba was made by Wurlitzer and is voiced on 15" wind and is installed on a unit chest with a pneumatic tremulant. The Tibia is a floating division and can be coupled throughout the organ. The pipes are Wurlitzer copies and were made by Gerry Schjelderup of Artisan Builders of Fargo, North Dakota. The curator voiced them on 12" wind.

Austin manufactured all other additions. The Festival Trompette is unenclosed and installed in front of the Swell and Solo Divisions. It is voiced on 15" wind and the pipes are hooded for maximum projection. The 32' Bombarde is of generous scale and is full-length.

The organ is powered by a 20 h.p. Spencer Orgoblo with two pressure taps and is located in the pavilion basement. The Great, Swell and Choir are voiced on 10" wind and the Solo is on 15" wind. The Pedal stops are divided between the two pressures. Butterfly valves are located at the blower and are connected to their respective bellows two floors above via a series of chains, pulleys and levers.

The organ was built with walk-in universal wind chests made famous by Austin. The curator, having been closely associated with this instrument for 47 years, believes that no other chest design would have provided the accessibility, serviceability, and reliability as found in this instrument in its unique environment. Ciphers and dead notes have been dealt with while concerts were actually in progress.

Keeping the organ tightly in tune is a challenge. The organ gets a thorough tuning once each year in the spring when the chamber temperature is about 70 degrees. Throughout the year, the instrument is spot tuned to keep the reed pipes with the flue pipes. Knowing when not to tune is as important as knowing when to tune. There are periods when very little attention is required over a month's time and other periods when weekly attention is required. There is no heat or air conditioning provided for the organ, and throughout the year there is about a 40-degree range of temperature inside the building. The lowest temperature observed has been about 50 degrees in the organ chamber.

The ideal concert environment is when the outdoor temperature is about the same as the indoor temperature. Major thermal differences will result in the organ sounding like a giant Celeste. One can tune all day at 70 degrees and then open the metal curtain and find it 90 degrees outside and all the tuning work is in vain. Fortunately, the tuning returns once the environment stabilizes. Humidity and barometric pressure also affect the tuning. Open wood flutes, even the large ones, go wildly out of tune during times of low humidity.

A few of the pavilion's more quizzical features include its 1914 electrical scheme. The former, with nearly 1,400 15-watt electric bulbs outlining the entire organ building and adjoining curved colonnades, converts the facility at night into a fairy book sight spectacular. When this sight is combined with the rich, sonorous uplifting power of 4,518 Spreckels pipes, the combination can fully stir one's emotions.

When statistics are marshaled, the live audiences that have been present for organ presentations since 1915 well exceed three million. This compilation does not include the millions that heard live radio broadcasts of the Spreckels concerts during the 1930s. These concerts were also beamed to the entire Los Angeles area.

The steadily increasing popularity of this populist venue as San Diego's Cultural Center has stretched the pavilion's capacity. The question may someday focus on how best to enlarge the pavilion seating from 2,400 to 3,500. Perhaps the finest days of glory for grand municipal orchestral concert organs is before us and not in the past.

A final comment from Austin Organs, by Orpha Ochse: "In December 1978 Austin's California representative Aaron G. Olmsted was asked by the factory to visit Opus 453 in San Diego to survey the condition of the organ.

"I think this instrument is a standing monument to the construction genius of old John D. and his brother along with many others. But more especially when you consider that the only thing between the organ and the out-of-doors is the band shell building over it, (and) the big warehouse type steel roll-up door, with its million joints, air holes and you name it -- just remarkable! ... I think it is a classic beyond belief."*

*Letter from Aaron Olmsted to Frank W. Katschera, Austin Organs, Inc. 1126179. From Austin Organ Company Files. Book Austin Organs by Orpha Ochse, published 2002 and available from Organ Historical Society.

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