American Theatre Organ Society

Information for this article was gathered by Dale Wood from various sources, including
an article by Charles Crook and B. A. Corsini in the Spring 1960 issue of Theatre Organ

A standard three-manual Kilgen console that provided second touch on two manuals.

Sebastian Kilgen built his first organ in 1640 in Durlach, Germany. The trade was handed down from generation to generation, and in 1851 the Kilgen craftsmanship was brought to the United States by George Kilgen, who set up the first Kilgen factory in New York City. After George Kilgen's death in 1873, the business was relocated to St. Louis by his son, Charles. The next fifty years saw the company grow to become one of the largest organ manufacturers in the country.

Kilgen is a name not commonly associated with builders of theatre pipe organs. The Kilgen Company was primarily a church and concert organ builder and their most famous instrument was installed in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. However, as many as 191 theatre organs were built by this long-established firm.

One of the most often heard Kilgens was the theatre organ at radio station KMOX in St. Louis, with Venida Jones at the console. This organ shared time with Ann Leaf from the Paramount Studio on CBS Radio. However, the finest example of a Kilgen theatre organ was the installation at the Piccadilly Theatre in Chicago.

Chicago's Piccadilly Theatre, 1927

The Piccadilly Theatre was built by H. Schoenstadt & Sons at a cost of some $4 million in 1926-27 in Chicago's Hyde Park district. The Piccadilly was designed by architects C. W. and George Rapp. The organ built by George Kilgen & Sons was purchased in 1926, at a cost of $23,500. Organist Leo Terry assisted in the preparation of the stop list along with the Kilgen staff.

The console for the Piccadilly Theatre left the factory in an unfinished state. The decorative scroll work and gold-bronze finish were applied by the Decorator Supply Company of Chicago, which also finished the Wurlitzer console for the Ambassador Theatre in St. Louis.

The Baldwin grand piano, playable from the organ console, was also finished in the same gold-bronze color. Pianos were usually placed in the pipe chambers to obtain the dynamic range afforded by the swell shades. Since the Baldwin grand was to be exposed on the balcony below the chamber, a different arrangement was used. The right hand swell shoe on the console had the piano sustain button that controlled the sustaining pedal on the piano. However, the action of the swell shoe itself controlled the striking power of the piano action. With the swell pedal in a closed position, the wind pressure on the piano action was low so that the piano strings were lightly struck. As the swell shoe was opened, the wind pressure increased and thereby increased the force of the piano action. With this arrangement the organist could control the expression of the piano as if he was actually at the piano keyboard.

Leo Terry at the console of the Kilgen organ
in Chicago's Piccadilly Theatre, 1927

On the balcony below the chamber on the opposite side of the theatre was a concert-size stringed harp, spotlighted as was the grand piano. It was a dummy instrument and the harp sound was actually produced by a Kohler-Liebich xylophone-type harp concealed behind curtains.

The Kilgen organ in the Piccadilly Theatre was used for less than five years, due to the advent of the "talkies" and the economic conditions during the Great Depression.

Of all the theatre organs manufactured by Kilgen, their instrument in the Palace Theatre in Canton, Ohio, is one of only two remaining in its original home.

Charles Kilgen died in 1932 and the business was handed down to his four sons, after which it was operated for a short time and then disbanded. A few of the former employees then organized what was called "Kilgen Associates," which also lasted a short time and disbanded.

In 1939, Eugene Kilgen, with the assistance of his brother Charles (as plant manager) and Max Hess (another Kilgen veteran, as designer) organized "The Kilgen Organ Company." Shortly after organization, World War II forced the company to put aside organ building and it went into the production of gliders. When the war was over, the building of organs was restored and continued for a short period before economic conditions forced the company our of business for the final time.