Wurlitzer opus 490 was installed in the Virginia Theatre shortly before opening on December 28, 1921. Originally a Style 185 2/7, it was upgraded in June 1924 to a Style 185 Special with the addition of the 8' Tibia Clausa extension. A 16' relay addition was made in 1928. During the 1990's, various minor additions were made, including the addition of effects such as duck call, surf, and jazz/tap cymbal.
Tremulants: Tibia, Vox, Tuba, Main
David Junchen worked on this organ beginning in October 1963 while an Electrical Engineering student at the University of Illinois, bringing it to life after 18 years. The organ again fell silent after Junchen's graduation but was reawakened 20 years later by Warren York and a varying crew of volunteers. A special variety show on May 5, 1991 sold out the theatre and featured the organ prominently. The audience enjoyed The Chorale singing the music of Stephen Foster, a sing-along using historic glass slides from the theatre's extensive collection, and a demonstration of the Wurlitzer. On December 31, 1991, a near-capacity audience attended the first annual News Year's Eve variety show, which followed closely the format of the May 5 program. With the exception of 1995, Warren York played pre-show, intermission, and sing-along accompaniment music for each subsequent annual New Year's Eve program until December 31, 2008, when a plaque was presented to honor him and future house organists. Due to ill health, Warren was unable to play the Virginia's Wurlitzer during 2009, and Michael Hammer took the console for the New Year's Eve program.
For nearly 20 years, until 2009, the organ was regularly played prior to and during intermissions for events. Those interested in volunteering to play should call the Virginia Theatre.
Milan Digital Audio has digitally sampled the instrument for Hauptwerk version 2.
Management and Operation since 1992:
During the first half of the 1990's, the number of area movie screens more than doubled, from 17 to 44, resulting in the Virginia's final showing of a first-run film on February 13, 1992 ( Father of the Bride). Local gospel singer David Wyper leased the theatre from GKC Theatres (acquired by Carmike Cinemas in 2005) and operated the facility as a live performance house, featuring local community theatre, touring Broadway productions, country, rock, band, Christian, gospel, and classical concerts. Wyper and a number of other community members formed the Virginia Theatre Group to purchase, renovate, and use the theatre as a place for the Champaign-Urbana community to come and enjoy high quality entertainment. The building was sold to the VTG in December 1995, with the assistance of a loan by the City of Champaign. A new Managing Director, John Eby, was hired in the summer of 1996. In 1998, a public fundraising campaign began, and the Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company merged with the Virginia Theatre Group to form a new organization, CUTC at the Virginia, to operate and manage the historic facility.
In January 2000, the Champaign Park District became owner-operator of the Virginia Theatre, with Managing Director Barbara Edfors (March 2000 to May 2001), Interim Director Anne Scouffas (Summer 2001), Managing Director Rebecca Cain (September 2001 to Summer 2004), and Jameel Jones, Manager (Summer 2004 to present).
Facilities:
A State of Illinois grant of $900,000 as well as forgiveness of loans enabled many needed behind-the-scenes repairs and upgrades to the building, overseen by the Cleveland firm Westlake Reed Leskosky (at the time called van Dijk Pace Westlake Architects), whose portfolio includes the restorations of Indianapolis' Circle Theatre and Rockford's Coronado Theatre. Decorative restoration of selected lobby panels was begun by Evergreene Painting Studios (now known as EverGreene Architectural Arts, Inc.) in April 2000, to provide an idea of how the theatre will look when the project is complete. A sample of the restored decoration can be seen here, where one can also make contributions to the restoration project. Additionally, extensive work began to provide new lobby and restroom facilities, as well as to upgrade those that remain from 1921. Funding for the organ is being accounted for separately by the Central Illinois Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society, and donations may be made directly to them. Contact information can be found on ATOS' Chapter Directory.
Other changes to the facility during the summer of 2000 included the replacement of the huge (22'4.5"x54') curved movie screen with a slightly smaller (22'x46') flat screen which can be flown off of the stage. The theatre re-opened without completed restrooms, but CUTC's production of "Once Upon a Mattress" was successfully presented October 19-22, 2000. The footlights were removed on December 28. Accessible restrooms on the main floor were completed in May 2001. The much-needed (and very beautifully finished) women's restroom facility in the basement opened on November 1, 2001. Work began to enlarge and remodel the box office in February 2002 and was completed later in the year. Backstage, dressing room remodeling began during summer 2003, and beautiful new carpeting was installed throughout the theatre the week of December 14, 2003. And, during the 2003 New Year's Eve celebration, it was announced that the Virginia had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Ongoing work in the basement and backstage since 2003 include star dressing rooms, laundry, kitchen, and shower facilities. June 2005: the orchestra pit has been lowered and the stage modified to be extendable over the pit. Tuckpointing of the stage tower was done during summer 2005 and more exterior emergency exit doors replaced. January 2006: the ceiling (in front of the house, above the proscenium) plaster has been repaired and repainted. Remodeling of the east lobby began in January 2007, with window replacement in September and completion by the end of the year. A new traveling curtain was installed in December, greatly enhancing the theatre's ambiance during the rare occasions the curtain is closed. Current plans are to remodel the outer lobby and replace the marquee beginning Summer 2010.
Media:
Champaign-Urbana's local alternative weekly newspaper, then known as The Octopus,
ran a feature article on the Wurlitzer in the issue for the week of December 8-14, 2000.
The text may be seen here. Renamed CU Cityview, then reborn
as The Paper, and again renamed The Hub, it featured the theatre
and Local Public Radio station WILL AM-580 ran a
six-minute spot as a part of their weekly program
Sidetrack on June 6 and 9, 2001. It
included an interview with and a demonstration of the organ by Warren York.
WILL-TV's local-interest series
Prairie Fire
contained a segment on the theatre in the episode aired on February 16, 2006, and,
surprisingly, the organ was not mentioned.
Dreamscape Cinema shot portions of
their film, Act Your Age, at
the Virginia on June 26, 2005, claiming that it was very similar to a Broadway theatre. The
film was premiered at the Virginia on November 14, 2007.
Coincidentally, there is a Broadway theatre formerly named
The Virginia Theatre,
at 245 W. 52nd St., which opened as The Guild in 1925 and is now known as the
August Wilson Theatre,
designed by the same architects, Crane and Franzheim. Also see the Internet Broadway Database listing.
In spite of a few inaccuracies (the organist is Warren York, the exterior
has not been restored, and the film listed on the marquee in the photo allegedly
from the 1920's, Smash-Up, was released
in 1947), the University of Illinois' student paper, the
Daily Illini, ran a nice article with a close-up photo of the console on July 17, 2006.
Due to poor health, Warren was unable to play the organ during the 11th Annual
Ebertfest, and the News-Gazette noted his absence
on April 25, 2009.
Roger Ebert:
Roger Ebert's first
Overlooked Film
Festival was held at the Virginia April 22-24, 1999. Ebert hosted lectures,
panel discussions, and introduced each film.
It provided a reminder of the moviegoing experience which had been missing in the area
since early 1992, with the exception of March 1997's sold out presentation
of a beautiful 70mm print of 2001: A Space
Odyssey as part of
Cyberfest,
the University of Illinois' celebration of HAL's birth in Urbana, Illinois, also
hosted by Ebert. The block of Park Avenue in front of the theatre was given the
name
Honorary Roger Ebert Boulevard in 2002 by the
City
of Champaign.
Photos from Ebertfest 7:
Warren York at the console. LincolnFest:
The first tribute in film to the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln was held March 12-15, 2009, with guests Hal Holbrook and Dixie Carter.
Organ-related and silent film events:
Warren York played pre-show, intermission, and incidental music, in
addition to providing sound effects with the Wurlitzer for the
Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company's production of
"You Can't Take It With You" on September 10-12, 1999.
To mark Halloween 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2005, Warren York accompanied the 1925 silent
Phantom of the Opera on the Wurlitzer.
On April 1, 2005, members and guests of the St. Louis
Theatre Organ Society, a Chapter of ATOS, visited
the Virginia, and Warren York presented a short program on the Wurlitzer as part of the
group's SLTOS Extravaganza.
For the weekend of February 9, 2003, Cambridge, Massachusetts'
Alloy Orchestra appeared at the Virginia,
accompanying Harold Lloyd's last silent film, Speedy, and several short films starring Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton.
In April 2003, The Fifth Annual Overlooked Film Festival
featured a beautiful print of the 1926 The Black Pirate in
two-strip Technicolor, with accompaniment by The Alloy Orchestra,
The Silent Movie Theatre's presentation of The
Golden Age of Silent Comedy, with Dean Mora on the Wurlitzer and piano, and
The Grey Automobile, with possibly the strangest
form of silent film accompaniment: Mexican-Japanese Benshi...it has to be seen to be appreciated.
More on the film and accompaniment can be seen
here.
Alloy returned in 2004, with a stunning print of Buster Keaton's
The General, in 2005 with the original
1925 Lon Chaney version of The Phantom
of the Opera, and with The Eagle (1925)
in 2006. 2007's silent film, Sadie
Thompson, was accompanied by the Champaign-Urbana
Symphony Orchestra. Alloy was back again in 2008 with Josef von Sternberg's 1927
Underworld, and in 2009 with another film
directed by Sternberg, his 1928 The Last Command.
Rumor has it that they will be performing their fantastic score to Vertov's
Man With a Movie Camera in 2010.
For further information on theatre pipe organs and the American Theatre Organ Society,
please see the Theatre Organ Home Page and
ATOS.
modified 01 january 2010 by chris anderson
Film Festivals at Roger Ebert's site--click on "Overlooked Album #2" to find a photo of Roger and Warren.
