Fox Residence - 2/9 Seeburg-Smith
Bellingham, Washington
Organ installation timeframe: 1994 - 2003
 
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Two-manual Seeburg-Smith console. Family friend Curowsh at the console. (photo: Jeff Fox, 1999)
 
According to Jeff Fox, his 2/9 Seeburg-Smith residence organ was originally installed in the California Theatre, Pittsburgh California. The Robert Morton Company took the Seeburg-Smith organ in on trade when they sold a new 3/10 Morton to the theatre. The instrument sat in their warehouse for several years until 1930-31 when it was sold to Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Bellingham.
 
Jeff Fox purchased the organ from the church in 1988. He initially stored the organ at Bill Charles residence (the old Methodist church at 1601 Mill Ave. in Bellingham) with plans to install it there, but later decided in 1994 to install the instrument in his own residence, leaving the Bourdon, bass flutes, and swell shades at Bill Charles' home/church.
 
Note the Robert-Morton nameplate mounted on the backrail in the console photo above. Balcom & Provorse installed this plate to cover holes in the back rail when the instrument was installed in the original Our Saviour's Lutheran building in 1931. The nameplate was removed when the instrument was relocated by Walter Price to the new church building in 1961. Jeff Fox reinstalled the nameplate on the backrail when he acquired the instrument in 1988.
 
All of the original percussions except chimes were missing so Jeff added a Wurlitzer toy counter and xylophone.
 
Since the organ's original blower was retained by the church to supply air for their "new" 2/12 E.M. Skinner organ, Jeff acquired the blower that once supplied the Seattle Blue Mouse Theatre Wurlitzer. He also added the Wurlitzer switchstack and relay from the Dutch Reformed Church in Oak Harbor WA, and a set of Bourdons acquired from Bob Otie of Kent WA that were originally from one of the Stanley theatres in Pennsylvania.
 

Clarinet, Trumpet and chimes	Bass drum, strings and Flute
Wurlitzer toy counter	Clarinet
Blower from the Seattle Blue Mouse

 
In 2003 the instrument was sold to Mark Steen of Spanaway, Washington. The Wurlitzer toy counter was purchased by Tom Blackwell of Issaquah.