Wurlitzers of Radio City: Roxy's Pipe Organ Vision for Rockefeller Center

In the depths of the Great Depression a group of soaring skyscrapers took shape in New York City. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. financed a project comprised of office buildings, plazas, and theatres on a scale never imagined for any metropolis. And to complete the dream he lured Samuel Lionel Rothafel--"Roxy"--to work his magic on two magnificent theatres: the cavernous Radio City Music Hall and a smaller, now-demolished sister theatre, the R-K-O Roxy. Both of these modern entertainment houses were equipped with pipe organs--resources that Roxy required to create his special and well-known brand of show business. But there were two more organs at Rockefeller Center: one at the broadcasting studio in the Music Hall and one for entertaining patrons at the Rainbow Room from a perch 65 stories high in the stratosphere. The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company of North Tonawanda, NY was awarded the contract to furnish these four instruments. They turned out to be some of the last organs built for domestic installations in the famous company's erecting rooms. And the Music Hall organ became the largest theatre organ ever manufactured by any firm. Here is the organs' story, their music, and for three: their peripatetic journey to other parts of America. Read more