1962-1975

In 1962 WurliTzer Opus 501 was sold to the late Donald Borden, who then lived in Mentor, Ohio.  Mr. Borden removed the last parts of the organ from the Lafayette as it was being demolished.  Since the 32’ octave of the wooden diaphones was installed horizontally above the proscenium, the pipes were not removed and were demolished with the theatre.  The original Brass Trumpet  from the organ is currently installed as the Trumpet en Chamade in Temple Beth Zion in Buffalo, New York.  We learned in July 2022 that the original Brass Saxophone from Opus 501 was probably sold by the company that serviced Temple Beth Zion's organ and became part of the 3-manual Louisville Uniphone theatre pipe organ that was installed by the late Tom Ferree in the Rivoli Theatre, Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1965-66.  The Brass Saxophone was sold after the Louisville Uniphone was removed from the Rivoli Theatre and it's current location is unknown.  If anyone knows who bought the Brass Saxophone from Tom Ferree, please contact me here. 

Opus 501 was installed in Mr. Borden’s home, and was used for ATOE (now ATOS) gatherings and was played by many artists including Johnny Seng, Lee Erwin, Ashley Miller, and Leonard MacClain.  (This information was taken from a posting about the Lafayette Theatre on the Cinema Treasures website.)