American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS): 2007 Annual Convention - Patriots Theatre at the War Memorial, Trenton New Jersey

The Patriots Theater at the War Memorial has been totally restored by the State of New Jersey and is an outstanding 1,900 seat venue in Italian Renaissance style. Located in New Jersey's capitol city, the theatre is an active performing arts center in addition to serving as a venue for many official State functions. Since the mid 1970’s when the Möller was transplanted from the nearby Lincoln Theatre, The theatre and organ have been a major attractions among the other exhibits in the War Memorial building. In addition to concerts, the organ is played at most of official State functions.

The Patriots Theatre instrument is a 3 manual, 16 rank Möller, opus 5198. Although residing in Trenton since 1928, it was originally housed in the Lincoln Theatre, just a few blocks from its current location. The owners of the Lincoln Theatre building expressed concern for the organ's survival when it became obvious that the structure was doomed in 1974. On Memorial Day weekend in 1974, volunteers from the Garden State Theatre Organ Society began to dismantle and move the instrument.
For the next year and a half, Garden State Theatre Organ Society volunteers spent forty to fifty hours per week repairing and installing the instrument. The console, one of largest ever produced by any theatre organ builder, also required a complete overhaul. In February 1976 a dedicatory concert with Ashley Miller at the console and all 1800 seats filled, completing the dream of installing the organ. In the following years, the organ has been presented many times annually in solo concerts, with orchestras, choruses and for New Jersey State events.

** Organ history from the GSTOS web site