OSU, Gill Coliseum - 2/9 Wurlitzer
Corvallis, Oregon
 
Back to the Northwest Public Theatre Organ Installations page

The Gill Coliseum Wurlitzer was originally installed November 1927 in Corvallis' Whiteside Theatre as opus 1807 a 2/8 Style F. It was used throughout the 1920s and 30s, but eventually fell into disrepair.
 
In 1960, Oregon Chapter Charter member Dick Chase worked it over, put it in playing condition and had access to it.
 
In 1961, Mrs. Whiteside gave the instrument to Oregon State University to be installed in the new 10,000-seat Gill Coliseum basketball and athletic building. Dick Chase not only supervised the move but did most of the reinstallation. His first job was to find a place to install the organ. Dick said that they took organ recordings and played them through a high output movable speaker system, transferring the speakers from place to place in the building. The best location seemed to be the west end of the stadium, elevated about 20 feet above the seats. It should be noted that in the theatre the organ was installed in the rear of the stage area in two large swell boxes, so by building platforms out from the wall between the roof girders the organ was reinstalled in the original chamber boxes as it was in the theatre. The two chambers were separated by about 20 feet. The console was set on a cantilever platform at seat level between the chambers. The renovated organ was equipped with great octave and suboctave couplers. Since the organ spoke directly under the curved roof, the sound rolled through the large structure making the 8-rank organ sound very large.
 
The organ was used for several years but was ultimately found to be inadequate to fill the auditorium. The console was disconnected and found its way to the Benton County Historical Museum in Philomath, Oregon.
 
In 2009, an effort was put forth to move the organ back to the Whiteside Theatre and planning is currently underway.