ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

From: Tom DeLay, January 2006

I did more sleuthing today regarding the Strand Theatre Uphams Corner, Dorchester, Boston.

I found that the area of Dorchester includes a district known as Codman Square. Codman Square is where the Strand Theatre resides in Dorchester Uphams Corner.

Since the Strand Theatre opened 11/11/18, it was far too early to have ever had opus 589 Wurlitzer style 160 special that is claimed to still be in the theatre in unplayable condition.

However, in doing some further research, the Uphams Corner area in which the Strand sits also has a name of Codman Square.

Recall that the information we have on the Strand Theatre claims it has/had the first Wurlitzer organ in the Boston area. As I have said all along, there is no way an organ from 1922 (opus 589) would qualify as Boston's first theatre Wurlitzer.

However, the ancient Wurlitzer opus of 193, a style 4X was 2 manuals and 8 ranks ("X" means it was a divided, two chamber instrument). This organ was shipped from North Tonawanda to a/the "Codman Square Theatre" on 11/28/18, a date that could work for this theatre. It is strange that this organ might have been shipped to the theatre after the opening, but Wurlitzer was having all sorts of production problems during the early years.

As this matter is dug into further, can we assume the Wurlitzer shipment list said Codman Square Theatre as a generality and not the specific name. This did happen on several instruments--two that I am directly familiar with was shipped (opus 1134) to "Monterey" Theatre (actually the Golden State Theatre Monterey, CA) and opus 1887 to the "Taraval Theatre", actually the Parkside Theatre ON Taraval Street in San Francisco. So, I believe it is possibly safe to assume a somewhat generic "Codman Square Theatre" and the Strand Theatre Dorchester/Codman Square/Upham's Corner/Boston may well be one in the same.

Now the further mystery--why on earth a theatre would get rid of an 8-rank style 4X and replace it with a clunky 6-rank economy model style 160 special in 1922. I wonder if the original organ was damaged or destroyed? Supposedly opus 193 of 1918 is in a private home in Cinnc'ti, OH. I real wonder about this. This information is decades old and was probably not all that accurate when it was gathered together in the late 1960s.

So we have several things to consider here. Knowing Wurlitzer's accuracy in naming a theatre installation site, I feel it is fairly safe to say the Strand Theatre had, at least at one time, the first Wurlitzer installed in the Boston area. IF this instrument was replaced with the econo style 160 in 1922, this means the Strand had TWO Wurlitzer organs; one installed in 1918 and replaced (?) with a style 160 Special in 1922.

Now the thing to find out is what organ (if any organ) is still installed in the Strand.

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