HOW IT ALL BEGAN: This is the saga of one man's attempt to preserve a theatre organ by installing it in a residence in southern Louisiana. The story began in 1995 when I happened to mention to an organ society friend that I might like to have a pipe organ some day. After accepting the proverbial warning and disclaimer that one has to be totally insane to undertake a home theatre pipe organ project, and then parting with about a year's worth of lunch money, I soon found myself the proud owner of a "Mighty Wurlitzer". As I began moving organ parts from Mississippi to my home in Louisiana, it became obvious that my friend was correct! For the next ten years, this beast would monopolize my house, my bank account, and most of my spare waking moments.

After dumping the components into five rooms of my house, I began the slow and expensive process of assembly and restoration. The instrument was touted to be in playing condition when I bought it, but it was mostly original and needed extensive work to insure longevity. In the years that followed, I went through every inch of every part. It was at times an expensive learning process. A lot of friends that I met along the way through ATOS and the chat groups I joined, have helped me immensely. I was able to successfully rebuild this instrument with little or no paid advice because of the proficiency of the folks who share this hobby.

FINDING A HOME FOR THE BEAST: During the ten-year period when rebuilding was occurring, we went though several attempts to install the organ in an appropriate building. The first attempt involved purchasing 2 acres of land in rural Covington, LA. and trying to erect a metal pre-fab church-like building for use as a studio. The photos below show the construction work that was underway when an evil politician in St. Tammany Parish decided he didn't want the organ building in his neighborhood and used his political power and connections to shut the project down thirty-days into construction. Realizing that we would be facing a possible ten-year legal battle against an out-of-control politician with his own "fifedom" and the full use of parish salaried attornies, we decided it was not worth expense and we decided to move on and seek another location.

A second attempt was made with a purchase of eight acres of rural land well in the back woods of North Covington, LA. Unfortunately, during the two years that building plans were underway, the area was re-zoned as a luxury subdivision, and building codes were enacted to prevent the construction of the type of building needed to house the organ. Plans were then put on hold for the next several years. Below are some photos of the first construction attempt that was stopped thirty-days after the Parish had issued a valid building permit.

After it became painfully evident that St. Tammany Parish Government was unfriendly to pipe organ owners, the instrument remained in storage at my family's home in New Orleans for several years as we debated the best location to continue with our plans for a grand organ pavilion. In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed the house, the organ and the entire section of New Orleans.

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