Wurlitzer Style 216
at the California Theatre
San Bernardino, California
unit orchestra
The Wurlitzer Unit Orchestra is the world's first synthesizer. These remarkable musical instruments allow a single musician to fill a theatre with the sound of an orchestra. They were the sound of the silent films. These massive instruments were built into the building.
a demonstration
Bob Salisbury plays the California Style 216 Wurlitzer to give some idea of what the instrument can do even in its current condition. This is just a small taste of what would be possible if the instrument was restored to be fully functional. While Bob was playing a note ciphered (stuck on), just one example of the reasons that this instrument is in need of restoration.
finest of its kind
The
Wurlitzer Style 216 theatre organ at the California
Theatre was a special model designed by Frank Lanterman, a theatre
organist who later went on to achieve prominance as a California state
senator. The Style 216 is considered by many to be the finest 2
keyboard theatre organ ever made. Read more...
southern california special
The Style
216 was
produced exclusively for the Fox West Coast
Theatre
chain, the original owners of the California Theatre in San Bernardino.
Only 12 instruments of this type were made and all but 1 were installed
in Southern California. The California's
Wurlitzer is the last of its kind still installed in its original
theatre.
unique link to a golden age
The
California Theatre's Wurlitzer Style 216 Unit Orchestra is a unique
link to a bygone era when movie stars were
royalty and their films were shown in palaces accompanied by the king
of musical instruments.
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