The Ballroom Organ

The ball room organ is the largest and most complete semi-theater organ ever built. The organ has two chambers with two expression pedals that make a marvelous fading efect, even in such a large auditorium. The auditorium itself is a gigantic 181 feet long, 128 feet wide, and 75 feet in height. Therefore, it is actually larger than the Rocafeller Center Music Hall, and nearly twice the size of the Symphony Hall in Lincoln Center. Despite it's size, it is acousticly better that either of these(though the delay is .5 seconds long!). The organ is a Kimbal. Of course, a very famous theatre organ builder. The organ was originaly built to acompany motion pictures, which sound pictures soon replaced. Then, the organ was used for balls and formal dancing. I enjoyed playing this organ, but, like the hall organ, it is very large and hard to maintain. Most of the percusion dosen't work, mostly because there is only one matinance man, Mr. Dennis McGurk, to work on the organ. Mr. McGurk does an excellent job, but like I say, it is like the Aegean Stables... Once you get to one end, the other end needs cleaned up!

The Big Organ

This organ was so loud when I first played it, I was nausiated for 6 hours! The most impressive stop on the organ would have to be the Ophicleide, which is the world's loudest stop. This stop has six times the volume of the loudest train whistle. This stop just happend to form a cipher on E flat while I was messing around with it. It took about a minute to get it un-stuck. Very traumatic for me! I also enjoyed playing around with the 64' Diaphone Profunda, the first I have ever heard. At first, it sounded like a noisy air conditioner. Then, the room and my insides started to shake.Thats why I was so naucious!

the monsterous console of the world's largest organ

The Ballroom console

a larger black and white picture from the brochure

The curator of the organ, Mr. Dennis McGurk, with the largest pipe of the 64' Diaphone Prufunda, a wooden reed

Me gawking at some 16 footers on my first trip to see the organs at age 12. Look at the geek! Haha! :)