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THE ATLANTIC CITY Despite the wealth of information about the instrument, it is hard to accurately plot all of the alterations or to establish precisely when they took place. It is said that some changes were made by Richards who, apparently, would turn up at the school, replace a stop with one he had brought with him, and then play it for a while. Sometimes, he would put back the original rank but, on other occasions, he would leave the new one in situ, if he thought it was an improvement upon the one it had replaced. A pamphlet about the organ - containing what would appear to be its final register list - can be viewed by clicking the thumbnails below.
For many years, organ recitals were given at the High School on Sunday afternoons and Thursday evenings during the winter and spring months by City Organist Arthur Scott Brook and by visiting recitalists. Admission was free because the Board of Education viewed them as part of a general educational program. Some of these recitals, and other concerts at the High School, were broadcast on the local radio station, WPG (World's Play Ground). Because the High School's auditorium was used by the city for a variety of events, it was known as the "Atlantic City Municipal Auditorium". Likewise, the organ in it became the "Atlantic City Municipal Organ" and was heralded as the "World's Greatest". In time, however, all of these titles passed to the Convention Hall and its organ. The Atlantic City High School organ was rescued from the dilapidated building in the early 1960s. However, some of its ranks had been vandalized beyond repair, so they were left behind. Therefore, even an assessment of the still-extant pipework may not reveal the final number of stops, etc. The instrument is still owned by the family who rescued it and it is well looked after but, alas, not yet re-assembled. Copyright 2002 Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society, Inc. Site design & maintenance by metaglyph |