A theatre organ is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films from the 1900s to the 1920s.
The Alabama Theatre is a movie palace in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built in 1927 by Paramount's Publix Theatres chain as its flagship theater for the southeastern region of the United States. Seating 2,500 people at the time, it was the largest in the Birmingham theater district. The district was once home to many large theaters and movie palaces that featured vaudeville, performing arts, nickelodeons and Hollywood films. Built to show silent films, the Alabama still features its original Wurlitzer theater organ. The Alabama Theatre and Lyric Theatre are the district's only remaining theaters, and as of 2024, both are in operation.
The Fox Theatre, a former movie palace, is a performing arts venue located at 660 Peachtree Street NE in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, and is the centerpiece of the Fox Theatre Historic District.
The Fox Theatre is a performing arts center located at 2211 Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, near the Grand Circus Park Historic District. Opened in 1928 as a flagship movie palace in the Fox Theatres chain, it was at over 5,000 seats the largest theater in the city. Designed by theater architect C. Howard Crane, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
The Byrd Theatre is a cinema in the Carytown neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. It was named after William Byrd II, the founder of the city. The theater opened on December 24, 1928 to much excitement and is affectionately referred to as "Richmond’s Movie Palace". Though equipped with a Wurlitzer pipe organ, the theatre was also one of the first of its kind to be originally outfitted for sound motion pictures.
The Al. Ringling Theatre in Baraboo, Wisconsin, United States, opened its doors in November 1915 and has been operating continuously ever since. Designed by the architectural firm Rapp and Rapp, it was built by Albert Ringling, one of the circus Ringling Brothers, for $100,000. Over the years, it has featured performances from vaudeville and silent movies to grand opera starring such notables as Lionel Barrymore and Mary Pickford.
The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark theater located on North State Street in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 1921, the Chicago Theatre was the flagship for the Balaban and Katz (B&K) group of theaters run by A. J. Balaban, his brother Barney Balaban and partner Sam Katz. Along with the other B&K theaters, from 1925 to 1945 the Chicago Theatre was a dominant movie theater enterprise. Currently, Madison Square Garden, Inc. owns and operates the Chicago Theatre as a 3600 seat performing arts venue for stage plays, magic shows, comedy, speeches, sporting events and popular music concerts.
The Fox Theatre, a former movie palace, is a performing arts center located at 527 N. Grand Blvd. in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Also known as "The Fabulous Fox", it is situated in the arts district of the Grand Center area in Midtown St. Louis, one block north of Saint Louis University. It opened in 1929 and was completely restored in 1982.
The Lafayette Theatre is a nationally acclaimed movie palace located in downtown Suffern, New York, built in 1923. Its primary function is first-run movies, but it also houses special events like its popular weekly Big Screen Classics film shows. It is also notable for housing a Wurlitzer theatre organ, which is played before Big Screen Classics shows.
Peery's Egyptian Theater is a movie palace located in Ogden, Utah, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The Paramount Theatre is a 2,807-seat performing arts venue located at 9th Avenue and Pine Street in the downtown core of Seattle, Washington, United States. The theater originally opened on March 1, 1928, as the Seattle Theatre, with 3,000 seats. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 9, 1974, and has also been designated a City of Seattle landmark.
The Fargo Theatre is an art deco movie theater in downtown Fargo, North Dakota, United States. Construction on the building began in the fall of 1925 and the theatre opened on March 15, 1926. It was restored in 1999 to its historic appearance and now is a center for the arts in the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area. The Fargo Theatre is home to a 4-manual, 32-rank Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ, known as the "Mighty Wurlitzer," which is owned and maintained by the Red River Theatre Organ Society, a non-profit organization and local chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society.
The Bartola Musical Instrument Company of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA, was a producer of theater pipe organs during the age of silent movies.
The Capitol Theater was located at 542 State Street in Salem, Oregon, United States. Part of the Bligh Building, it was built in the 1920s for vaudeville. During its heyday, it housed a Wurlitzer pipe organ, which is now in private ownership in Washington. The theater was demolished in 2000, but the retail portion of the building, now known as the Pacific Building, still stands.
Proctor's Theatre is a theatre and former vaudeville house located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Many famous artists have performed there, including Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Hal Holbrook, Ted Wiles, and George Burns, as well as many others. It has one of the largest movie screens in the Northeast.
The Paramount Theatre is a concert venue in Denver, Colorado, located on Glenarm Place, near Denver's famous 16th Street Mall. The venue has a seating capacity of 1,870 but is a popular destination for large acts looking for a smaller concert setting. With spelling as Paramount Theater, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Plaza Theatre is a historic building in El Paso, Texas, United States, built in 1930. The theater stands as one of the city's most well-known landmarks, and remains operational today. The theatre is a National Historic Building of Significance featuring the 2,050-seat Kendall Kidd Performance Hall, and the smaller 200-seat Philanthropy Theatre. It hosts Broadway productions, musical concerts, individual performers and the annual Plaza Classic Film Festival.
The Riviera Theatre is a historic, 1140 seat entertainment venue in North Tonawanda, New York. The theatre hosts live concerts, theatre, dance shows, and movies. The Riviera's “Mighty Wurlitzer” theatre organ has been restored, is maintained by volunteers, and is famed as being one of two original Wurlitzer demonstrator organs, which the company would use to show off to potential clients in the height of the silent film era.
The Sarasota Opera House is a historic theater building used as an opera house at 61 North Pineapple Avenue in Sarasota, Florida. The building was the vision of A.B. Edwards, the first mayor of Sarasota. It opened on April 10, 1926, with a three-story entrance containing eight shops on the ground floor, 12 offices on the second floor, and 12 furnished apartments on the third. The theatre's auditorium contained an orchestral pipe organ. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune hailed Edwards for "having admitted Sarasota into a fairyland of costly decoration, rich furnishings and never to be forgotten artistry."
The Palace Theatre is an entertainment venue in downtown Albany, New York, located on the corner of Clinton Avenue and North Pearl Street. The theatre is operated by the Palace Performing Arts Center, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Established in 1984 and incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation in 1989, the Palace Performing Arts Center, Inc. was created to operate the theatre and utilize its full potential as a cultural and entertainment center in Albany.
