Mix Blog Live: The Mighty Wurlitzer at the “Showplace of the Tonawandas”

I recently worked a show at the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda, N.Y., a venue I’ve visited several times in the past few years. The venue has slowly been making significant upgrades, some technical and some related to the building itself. But there’s one “upgrade” that’s been ongoing continuously for more than 75 years, and it makes the Riviera Theatre special. Here’s some of the back story…

The Riviera was built in 1926 and touted as the “Showplace of the Tonawandas” (near Buffalo, N.Y., for those who were wondering). As was the case with many theaters built during the Vaudeville Era, the venue presented live shows as well as movies, many of which were silent and featured accompaniment by live musicians. In the case of the Riviera, music was supplied by an organist playing the in-house organ, aka The Mighty Wurlitzer! 

The town of North Tonawanda has a strong connection to Wurlitzer because the North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory, located there, was purchased by Rudolph Wurlitzer in 1909 and became the Wurlitzer factory. Hard to believe it now, but Wurlitzer organs were very popular at the time as a main source of sound for showings of silent films. Introduced ca. 1910, the “Mighty Wurlitzer” theater organ became the company’s landmark product, with installations in theaters, churches and even private homes worldwide. 

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Alas, these magnificent beasties no longer roam the Earth in the same numbers as in their heyday, but there are still working examples scattered around the globe. One of those lives in the Riviera. 

Installed in 1926, the Model 235 Special features three manuals and eleven “ranks”—sets of pipes designed to produce specific tones. Use of the organ diminished in the early 1930s as “talkie” movies gained ground, and the instrument fell into disrepair. Efforts to restore and maintain the organ continued intermittently: a round of replacing missing and damaged pipes, and cleaning the electrical contacts (mid-1940s); a graft of parts from another Wurlitzer that had lived in the Kensington Theatre in Buffalo (ca. 1970); restoration of the console artwork and paint; installation of a computer-based system to replace the aging mechanical relays; extensive tone tweaks,  replacement of damaged pipes, reworking of the wind lines, and replacement of non-Wurlitzer components (ca. 2010).

The results are amazing! 

I had the chance to hear keyboard virtuoso and Band Geeks member Christopher Clark take the Mighty for a spin, and it’s breathtaking to hear the instrument in person—and really cool to see the elevator raise the organ console from floor to stage level while the organist is playing! Kudos to the theatre association for recognizing what a special instrument they have in the house, and for resolving to repair and maintain it over the years.

Let’s not forget the other improvements at the Riviera. The audio system recently had a major upgrade with the addition of a Yamaha DM7 digital mixing console at FOH. The main P.A. features RCF HDL-30 (active two-way line array elements) flown eight per side, with three RCF TTS36 subwoofers set as a center-cluster in cardioid. Having mixed at the Riviera pre-DM7, I can say that the console markedly improves the clarity of the system. 

The last time I visited the venue, the front lobby was being renovated; that has been completed, with a new concessions area, bar and an outdoor patio. 

Next on the list is construction of new dressing rooms and green room facilities, which will be built into a new space adjacent to the theater. Like many theaters from that era, the existing dressing rooms and production spaces are bare-bones, so I’ll be looking forward to that… and hearing that Wurlitzer again!

Keep your eye on the Riviera website if you’re interested in hearing The Mighty Wurlitzer, The Riviera still hosts silent-movie nights, with live accompaniment played by organist Bruce Woody.