Photos: The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ returns to the Fox Theatre
For the first time in 60 years, the sound of The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ will resonate through the Fox Theatre on Saturday night in Tucson. Once finished, the four-manual organ will sport a 30-rank pipe system in the organ loft.
Photos by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Organist Ron Rhode gets a feel for the The Mighty Wurlitzer organ for a weekend reveal at the Fox Tucson Theatre.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Adrian Phillips, with Phillips Organ Co. and Associates, is handed a pipe to place atop the wind chest structure in the cramped quarters of the organ loft.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Ken Fedorick, from Las Cruces, N.M., checks the combination actions as he works on the computer interface for the The Mighty Wurlitzer organ for a weekend reveal.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Grahame Scott Davis, right, president and artistic director of Pipe Organ Artisans of Arizona, talks with organist Ron Rhode as workers prepare the The Mighty Wurlitzer organ.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Adrian Phillips, with Phillips Organ Co. and Associates, places pipes in the cramped quarters of the organ loft to prepare the The Mighty Wurlitzer organ.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
The electrical components behind the stops of the The Mighty Wurlitzer organ.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Ken Fedorick, from Las Cruces, N.M., gets to work on the computer interface on the The Mighty Wurlitzer organ.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Adrian Phillips, with Phillips Organ Co. and Associates, places pipes in the cramped quarters of the organ loft.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Grahame Scott Davis, president and artistic director of Pipe Organ Artisans of Arizona, works in the cramped quarters underneath the wind chest in the organ loft.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Detail work on the The Mighty Wurlitzer organ.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Adrian Phillips, with Phillips Organ Co. and Associates, works in the cramped quarters of the organ loft.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Joey Quezada, middle, with Pipe Organ Artisans of Arizona, grabs an organ pipe from Fox Theatre facility manager Randy Ingram for Adrian Phillips, back left, to place in the organ loft.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Organist Ron Rhode gets a feel for the The Mighty Wurlitzer organ for a weekend reveal.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Workers prepare the The Mighty Wurlitzer organ for a weekend reveal at the Fox Tucson Theatre.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Each stop has five combinations in the The Mighty Wurlitzer organ for a weekend reveal.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Pipes await placement in the organ loft as workers prepare the The Mighty Wurlitzer organ for a weekend reveal.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Ken Fedorick, from Las Cruces, N.M., gets to work on the computer interface on the The Mighty Wurlitzer organ.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
This Spencer organ blower, made in 1927, moves 3,800 cubic-feet-per-minute of air for the The Mighty Wurlitzer organ.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Four manuals and rows of stops on the console of the The Mighty Wurlitzer organ.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Adrian Phillips, with Phillips Organ Co. and Associates, places pipes in the cramped quarters of the organ loft.
The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
Ken Fedorick, from Las Cruces, N.M., works on the computer interface behind the console for the The Mighty Wurlitzer organ.
Restoration work has been underway on the Mighty Wurlitzer theater organ for over a decade.
Huge expansion planned for Tucson's Fox TheatreFor Star subscribers: The nearly 100-year-old downtown venue plans to build the expansion on the adjacent Bruegger's Bagels building.