Fox Theatre, Detroit, Michigan

Wurlitzer, opus #1894, 1928, style: "Fox Special"

 

MAIN Chamber 10" wind    Pedal   Accomp        Great        Bombarde   Solo

 8 Vox Humana 6"                 8 4           16 8                       8

 8 Dulciana                      8                8

 8 Salicional                    8                8                       8

 8 Viol d'Orchestre 85p     8    8 4           16 8 4   2                 8

 8 Viol Celeste 73p         8    8 4           16 8 4                     8

 8 Lieblich Flute 73p            8 4              8 4

16 Concert Flute 97p     16 8    8 4 3 2          8 4   2 T

 8 Horn Diapason 73p        8    8 4           16 8 4

16 Open Diapason 73p     16      8                8

 8 Krumet                        8                8                       8

16 Tuba Horn 85p 15"     16 8    8 8t          16 8 4

 

FOUNDATION Chamber 15"   Pedal   Accomp        Great        Bombarde   Solo

 8 Vox Humana 6"                 8 4           16 8                       8

16 Clarinet 73p 10"      16 8    8 8t          16 8

 8 Musette 10"                                    8                       8

 8 Gamba 73p                8    8 4           16 8 4          8          8

 8 Gamba Celeste 73p             8 4           16 8 4          8          8

 4 Harmonic Flute 73p              4   2            4   2

 8 Solo Brass Trumpet       8    8             16 8 16t     16 8

16 Tibia Clausa 97p      16 8    8 4 8t 4t 2t  16 8 4 3 2   16 8 4     16 8 4 2

32 Dia. Diap. 85p 25" 32 16 8    8 8t          16 8         16 8          8

 

SOLO Chamber 10"         Pedal   Accomp        Great        Bombarde   Solo

 8 Vox Humana 6"                 8 4           16 8                       8

 8 Quintadena                    8                8                       8

 8 Brass Saxophone               8 8t          16 8                       8

 8 Orchestral Oboe                                8                       8

 8 Kinura                                         8                       8

 8 Solo String 73p          8    8             16 8 4       16 8          8

 8 Solo String 73p          8    8             16 8 4       16 8          8

 8 Oboe Horn                     8                8                       8

 8 French Horn                   8                8                       8

 8 Brass Trumpet                 8t               8                    16 8

16 Tibia Clausa 97p 15"  16 8    8 4 8t 4t 2t  16 8 4 3 2   16 8 4     16 8 4 2

 

ORCHESTRAL Chamber 25"   Pedal   Accomp        Great        Bombarde   Solo

 8 Vox Humana 10"                8 4           16 8         16 8          8

16 Post Horn 73p 15"     16 8    8 8t          16t          16 8 16t      8

16 Solo String 73p       16 8    8t            16 8 8t      16 8

16 Tibia Clausa 97p      16 8 4  8 8t 4t       16 8 4 3 8t  16 8 4 3 2 16 8 4 2

16 Tuba Mirabilis 85p    16 8    8 8t          16 8         16 8 4 16t    8

 

   Accomp to ...            8      4

   Great to ...             8    4t            16   4          8          8

   Bombarde to ...          8                  8t           16

   Solo to ...              8    8 8t          16 8 16t 8t  16 8       16

   Solo (Pizzicato) to ...                                         8t

 

("3" = 2-2/3, "T" = 1-3/5, "t" = second touch)

 

In addition, there were 7 Tibia Clausa tabs for the Pedal, playing via a

Pizzicato action, 1 each for 16', 1 each for 8', and one that drew the

other 6.

 

Tremulants:

  Main: Main, Vox, Tuba

  Foundation: Foundation, Vox, Tibia

  Solo: Solo, Vox, Tibia

  Orchestral: Orchestral, Vox, Tuba Mirabilis, Tibia

 

Blowers: 2 50hp Spencer Orgoblos (1 was a spare)

 

The chambers were arranged as follows.  On the left side the 32' Diaphone

bottom octave was unenclosed in its own chamber, followed by the Main and

Foundation (above the Main).  On the right side, the Orchestral chamber is

located above the Solo chamber.

 

The organ included a 2nd 4-manual console (a slave, with dummy stoptabs)

and the usual set of percusions, including a 13-note set of "Tuned Tympany"

drums playable in the pedal.

 

The "matrix" style of stoplist fails to show several details:

1. The two Solo Strings in the Solo chamber were operated together in every

case; the stop tabs were labelled "Strings".

2. The Great 16' strings (except for the 25" pressure Solo String) were all

operated by a single tab labelled "String Ensemble 16'".

3. The Solo manual 8' strings were also on a single tab: "String Ensemble 8'".

4. The Solo manual Vox Humanae were also an "Ensemble".

5. Some of the 4' Viol d'Orchetre and 4' Gamba tabs seemed to operate the

associated Celeste ranks as well.

6. Some of the 4' Piccolo tabs seemed to operate several 4' Tibiae Clausae.

 

The Detriot organ was the second "Fox Special", the first being opus #1458,

1926, for the New York Paramount Theatre.  This one was followed by opus

#1904 (1928, Brooklyn Fox), #1997 (1928, St. Louis Fox), and #2012 (1928,

San Francisco Fox).  It is interesting to see that Wurlitzer built these 4

all in 1928.  A sixth Fox Special was to have been built (for Newark, New

Jersey), and Wurlitzer in fact purchased the sixth pair of 50hp blowers for

it, one of which finally ended up powering the Radio City Music Hall organ.

 

The San Francisco Fox instrument was similar, except that the Solo String

(25") was swapped with one of the Solo Strings in the Solo chamber and the

32' Diaphone was located behind the procenium rather than at the left side

of the balcony.  The Brooklyn instrument had an extra rank, a Concert Flute

Celeste that was permenantly wired in parallel with the Concert Flute.

This instrument was also arranged differently, with parts of it above the

procenium arch; it also included a String Chamber.

 

The Moller company supplied lobby organs for three of the Fox theatres:

#5286 for St. Louis, #5387 for Detroit, and #5497 for San Francisco.  These

were all 3/12 organs with Artiste player units and each cost $10,000 in

1928.  Only the Detriot lobby organ remains.  Moller then went on in 1929

to build its #5566, a 4/42, for the Atlanta Fox theatre, at a cost of

$42,000.

 

Larry Chace (also RLC1@cornell.edu)  (posted to PIPORG-L on 12/20/95)

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