RESTORING
THE MIGHTY
WURLITZER THEATER ORGAN
TO ITS GLORY
The Past Stays With Us
The luxurious Latonia Theater in Oil City was a popular motion picture house in the region for several decades.
The Venango Museum acquired the Latonia's 1928 Wurlitzer Theater organ in 1988. Thousands of hours of volunteer and professional labor were required to restore the organ to playable condition, which includes more than 600 separate pipes, as well as numerous sound effects and percussion instruments.
As with anything, the Wurlitzer has needed continuous updates and repairs to continue to allow it be playable throughout the years.
Read more below to find out how the Museum is preserving this mighty instrument and how you can help the Museum in its preservation!
The Latonia
Among the theaters that Oil City once boasted was the Latonia Theater, located on the South Side of town. The theater opened its doors on March 4, 1929, and could hold over 1,400 patrons. It carried a hefty half-million dollar price tag and was a grand, state-of-the-art theater.
The Latonia Theater was independently owned until 1942, when the Warner Brothers Circuit Management Corporation took over operations due to financial difficulties. The theater operated for several decades before running into financial difficulties in the 1960s.
In 1969, the last films were shown at the theater before it closed.
The Mighty Wurlitzer
The theater pipe organ was invented and developed in the early 1900s primarily to accompany silent films.
The Museum And The Wurlitzer
The organ was removed from the Latonia and neglected in a barn for a few decades.
In the late 1980s, a local businessman named George Shaw donated it to the museum, where, under professional guidance, local volunteers helped rebuild and install it in its present location.
The organ is a 3/8 Wurlitzer, style 200 special, and consists of 8 ranks– flute, salicional, celeste, diapason, tuba horn, tibia, kinura, and a vox humana. The 5 tuned percussions included a 37-note xylophone, 49-note chrysoglott, 30-note glockenspiel, 25-note chimes, and 25-note sleigh bells.
The organ has had a few modifications, mainly a “modern” relay and combination action. The instrument is now installed in a single chamber, where it was initially installed in two chambers.
Today's Restoration
After years of searching for a reliable organ technician, the Venango Museum staff was fortunate to meet the team at Musical Restorations, LLC in 2024.
Based in Dayton, Virginia, the Musical Restorations team is set to work on restorations on the organ in phases over the next few years.
The early restoration in the 1980s and 1990s, undertaken by volunteers under professional guidance, returned the organ to playable condition.
Today’s restoration will allow the organ to look and sound exactly as it once did when it was initially installed in the Latonia Theater in 1929.
Track The Restoration Process
With Us!
Check out the timeline of the restoration process since the project began in June 2024! This section will be updated periodically.
June 2024
The Musical Restorations team made its first on-site visit to the museum to inspect the organ, gather survey information, and provide recommendations to bring it into good repair.
August 2024
The detailed survey was presented to museum staff, with an estimated restoration budget of $60,000.
The restoration team agreed to work with museum staff on the project in phases on an ongoing basis as funding permitted.
November 2024
The restoration team arrived at the museum to complete the first, approximately $4,000 worth of restoration and repair work on the organ.
The organ had numerous mechanical and tonal problems. The restoration team corrected over 40 dead notes caused by internal mechanical issues, lessened several wind leaks, tuned the organ, got the chrysoglott and glockenspiel functioning reliably, got the tremulants to turn on and function reliably, and much more.
The team also cleaned up the organ console, replacing the Phillips-head screws with new, nickel-plated slotted screws, and replaced the homemade music rack with a new Wurlitzer replica from their stock.
April 2025
Museum staff announced a Silent Film Series of five silent film showings throughout 2025 to promote the organ restoration and raise funds for the project.
The Musical Restorations team also returned for a short trip to the Museum, where they removed the chrysoglott, glockenspiel, and several traps to restore them to their 1928 appearance and function.
New gaskets, valves, armatures, leather covering on the motors, and more were part of the “full fluff” the traps and percussions received. As work progresses, new wind-conductor gaskets will be supplied to seal wind leaks in the room.
June 2025
The Museum hosted its first silent film screening as part of its 2025 Silent Film Series.
Organist Ian Fraser accompanied the 1923 Buster Keaton comedy Three Ages to a sold-out crowd of 100.
The restoration team spent a week at the museum in June. They returned the first two tuned percussion instruments to the museum, a 30-note glockenspiel and the 49-note chrysoglott. In November 2024, the chrysoglott was unusable due to the number of non-functioning notes. A full restoration, including new leather coverings on the primary and secondary motors, new gaskets, new felts, and new hammers and shanks, helped restore the organ's ethereal tones. The glockenspiel received similar treatment with freshly plated hammers.
The week was spent reinstalling the percussion and performing another round of mechanical tune-up, focusing on repairs to improve the tremulant for the pipes.
The restoration team discovered several errors in work previously done on the organ and corrected them, bringing the organ as close to its original condition as possible.
Before departing, the team removed the chime action, xylophone, and sleigh bell action to receive a full restoration.
July 2025
The museum hosted its second silent film showing for 2025. Organist Eric Cook accompanied the 1922 Harold Lloyd comedy Grandma’s Boy to yet another sold-out crowd of 100.
September 2025
The third silent film, the action-adventure swashbuckler film The Black Pirate starring Douglas Fairbanks, was accompanied once again by organist Eric Cook. Two showings were offered and both sold-out with 200 tickets sold.
October 2025
The restoration team returned to the museum in preparation for the fourth silent film showing of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde starring John Barrymore. Organist Clark Wilson accompanied the 1920 horror film to yet another sold-out crowd of 100.
In addition to tuning the organ, the restoration team worked on the tremulants to further stabilize their function and provide vibrato to the pipes. They also addressed issues with the wind chests, further reducing the chances of ciphers; addressed issues with the wind system; wired the xylophone action; and addressed other issues as time allowed.
The restoration team is set to return to the museum in November in preparation for the fifth and final silent film showing of Laurel & Hardy’s 1928 short comedy Two Tars and a holiday program with organist Justin Stahl.
Donate To The Wurlitzer Theater Organ Restoration
Would you like to assist us in funding this restoration project? Please consider taking the time to fill out the form below with your contribution!
Frequency
One time
Monthly
Amount
$50
$100
$250
$500
Other