Scope and Content
Arrangement
Preferred Citation
Processing Information
Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Immediate Source of Acquistion
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Biographical / Historical Notes
Title: San Diego Theater Organ Group and Fox Theatre Collection
Identifier/Call Number: MS 100
Contributing Institution:
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
2.75 Linear feet
(4 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1909-1997
Abstract: This collection pertains to the San Diego Theater Organ Group and their restoration and revival of the Robert Morton Theater
Organ at the Fox Theatre in San Diego.
creator:
San Diego Theater Organ Group.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of items pertaining to the San Diego Theater Organ Group, who performed all organ restoration work
and subsequent organ concert administration of the Robert Morton organ at the Fox Theatre in San Diego. The collection includes
information on the Group and Theatre, organ repair information, promotional documents, business items, correspondence, and
artist information. Highlights include photographs of the organ and its repair, repair notes, official group documents, news
releases, performance flyers (from the Fox and other theaters), correspondence from organ fans, and organ-related publications.
There is also a scrapbook containing photographs of artist performances at the Fox, as well as autographed performance flyers.
Also included are reel-to-reel recordings and a vinyl record of various artists, most of whom performed at the Fox Theatre
(not all recordings are from the Fox Theatre).
Arrangement
Items in the collection are arranged into four series:
Series I: San Diego Theater Organ Group
Series II: Fox Theatre Organ Artists and Performances
Series III: Scrapbooks
Series IV: Photographs and Audio Recordings
Items in Series I are arranged by subject. Items in Series II and IV are arranged alphabetically by artist name.
Preferred Citation
San Diego Theater Organ Group and the Fox Theatre Collection, MS 100, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego,
CA.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Jennifer Ho on August 24, 2011.
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous
funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.
Immediate Source of Acquistion
Accession number 2002.102 and 840117B.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Scrapbook pages are brittle. (August 24, 2011)
Biographical / Historical Notes
The Fox Theatre opened in San Diego on November 8, 1929, one week after the stock market crash of “Black Friday.” The 3,000
seat theater was the third largest on the Pacific coast, and brought glamour along with silent films to San Diego. Four downtown
blocks had to be roped off in order to accommodate the approximately 100,000 people who attended its opening. The films were
accompanied by the $50,000 4-manual/32-rank Robert Morton Theater Organ, which contained 3,000 pipes. Its primary organist
was Edith Ducker Steele, who played accompanying music while comedy, chases, drama and romance filled the screen. When “talking
pictures” established their dominance in 1936, the organ was moved to the back of the stage and forgotten. It was rediscovered
by theater manager William Mauck thirty years later, blanketed in dust and inhabited by mice. In August 1967, seven men came
together, all amateur organists and industrial engineers, to form the San Diego Organ Enthusiasts Guild, later known as the
San Diego Theater Organ Group, Inc. For the next two years, they would be dedicated to restoring the organ at no cost to the
Fox Theatre. These men were Carter “Bob” Lewis, D.P. Snowden, Irving Pinkerton, Paul Cawthorn, Wayne Guthrie, Archie Ellsworth
and Bob Wright. After the restoration was finally complete, Edith Ducker Steele, the original organist, tested the instrument
and declared it “good as new.”
After the restoration work was done, the San Diego Theater Organ Group brought renowned organist Gaylord Carter to play the
premiere concert on the newly-restored organ. For the next several years, the group continued to bring many locally- and nationally-known
organists to perform on the Morton, including Helen Dell, Bob Ralston and Korla Pandit. Concertgoers were charged only $1
or $2, all of which went to the continued maintenance of the organ. The Fox Theatre became the city's second official civic
theater. In 1984, the Theatre was acquired by the San Diego Symphony, and years later after a major renovation became Copley
Symphony Hall.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Alder, Bob
Alexander, Mildred
American Association of Theatre Organ Enthusiasts.
Baker, Don, 1903-1989
Carter, Gaylord
Castillo, Del
Cawthorn, Paul
Copley Symphony Hall.
Creel, Cheryl
Dell, Helen
Ellsworth, Archie
Erwin, Lee
Fox Theatre.
Fox, Virgil, 1912-1980
Guthrie, Wayne
Hazelton, Tom
James, Dennis, 1950-
James, Heidi, 1950-
Kann, Stan, organist
Koury, Rex
Kumagai, Maria
Larsen, Lyn
Leaf, Ann
Lewis, Carter
Lights, Pablo
Mauck, William
Nordwall, Jonas
Pandit, Korla
Pinkerton, Irving
Ralston, Bob
Rhode, Ron
Roseveare, Jim
San Diego Theater Organ Group.
Seppala, Wayne
Shepherd, David
Snowden, D.P.
Steele, Edith Ducker
Thompson, Don
Thomson, Bill, organist
Wolf, Ralph
Wright, Bob
Console
Organ (Musical instrument)
Organ music
Organists
San Diego (Calif.)
Theater organ
Theatre Organ Bombarde