Grand Barton Organ, Capitol Theater.
The Grand Barton organ in the Capitol Theater has entertained at least 1.8 million audience members since the venue opened in 1928. And it shows. Or sounds, rather. Now the musical instrument is about to undergo a $250,000 restoration.
As part of the popular Duck Soup Cinema series at the Overture Center for the Arts, Madison’s sole theater organ continues its original purpose, accompanying silent movies. But Steve Schroeder, Overture’s technical director, says the programming has been limited because of the state of the organ: “Some of the pipes are in pretty rough shape.”
After recently successful fundraising, contract negotiations with a restoration firm are now underway, and Schroeder says the organ will be removed for restoration by the end of March or early April.
Any theater organ, with its keyboard, relays and pipes, is actually a mechanical octopus whose tentacles embrace an entire auditorium. Normally a project of this complexity would take years, but Schroeder says the contractor will devote full time to the Overture project, and he anticipates that the organ will be back in place for the 2019-2020 season.
According to Overture communications manager Sarah Knab, the process involves “careful disassembly” of the mechanical units, along with cleaning and replacing worn components.
The Overture organ is a significant part of Wisconsin and even national history. In 1990, it was recognized by the Pennsylvania-based Organ Historical Society as “an instrument of exceptional merit,” an honor the organization usually reserves for church organs.
It is a rare survivor. The American Theater Organ Society estimates that more than 7,000 instruments were placed in cinemas from 1915 to 1933. The fifth largest manufacturer was Bartola Musical Instrument Company of Oshkosh, which operated from 1918 to 1931. That was the year Charlie Chaplin released City Lights, one of the very last silent films.
At the Capitol Theater, it appears that a portion of the building was even built around the expansive instrument.
Real-time accompaniment allows the silent film organist to join on-screen performers, providing a chance for interaction with audiences as they respond. The celebrated film director King Vidor, who worked from 1913 to 1980, estimated that live musical accompaniment accounted for 50 percent of a silent movie’s impact. Period orchestral and organ scores written for major silent features are the subject of a relatively recent and lively film preservation effort.
Along with their venues, theater organs were demolished over the years, or moved or altered beyond recognition. To have one in its original location and original condition is “pretty special,” says Barton enthusiast John Lauter, a theater organist and restorer based in the Detroit area. He moderates the Barton Pipe Organs Facebook page.
Lauter characterizes the overall Barton sound as “huskier” compared to industry leader, Wurlitzer. The pride of every theater organ was its “toy box” of special effects. The Capitol Theater’s instrument includes a boat whistle, “oogah horn” and a percussion kit, including tambourine, snare drum, xylophone and wood block.
“It’s where the term ‘bells and whistles’ comes from,” says Schroeder.
A theater console, where the organist sits, was usually a gaudy showpiece. Barton consoles tend to be red with gold scrollwork, a design termed “circus style.” The Capitol Theater’s organ pipes, ranging from 16 feet to pencil-sized, are hidden in two curtained coves flanking the stage.
“By a quick count I come up with 11 Barton organs still playing in their original theaters, out of over 300 [that were built],” says Lauter. Only 48 Bartons survive in any condition anywhere, according to the California–based American Theater Organ Society.
Company founder Dan Barton was an excellent salesman but pressed for resources, according to Lauter. Perhaps for responsive service, he never wanted one of his organs placed more than a night’s train ride away.
As a result, most Barton organs were installed in the upper Midwest. A notable exception is the instrument placed at Ebell of Los Angeles, a Wilshire Boulevard woman’s club. It was in the club’s 1,300-seat auditorium that young Judy Garland was discovered.
