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Builder: Page Organ Co., Op. 1, 19 Manuals: 2 Ranks: Unknown Action: Unknown Notes: Built by the Page Organ Company of Lima, Ohio. The Page Organ Company built approximately fifty theatre-style pipe organs for the movie theatre industry during the Golden Age of the King of Instruments. The Page Company started very small, with a home-built organ in 1922. The company experienced large growth over the following decade, with a steady demand for theatre organs. The company experienced a decline in the early 1930s with the introduction of sound films, coupled with the onset of the Depression. The company was sold to an employee named Ellsworth Beilharz in 1930, who initially assembled instruments from components purchased from the defunct Page Company. In 1984, Beilharz sold the company to two employees, who remain in business under the name Lima Pipe Organ Company, Inc. Built on the site of the [current] Lounge Theatre, the original State Theatre was opened January 27, 1928. It was equipped with a Page organ. In May 1928 the State was sold and was renamed Huron Theatre. This was part of Minnesota Amusements Company (ARCO) in the late-1940’s, headquartered in Minneapolis. The chain operated theatres in Minnesota, the two Dakotas and Wisconsin. The Huron (State)Theatre was closed following a fire on January 19, 1957 and the building was demolished in 1959. Organ Historical Society as of 2004. |
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