The Wurlitzer Company has been in existence in the United States since the mid 1850s, selling and manufacturing instruments, large theater organs and jukeboxes. The company made organs of such high quality that some theaters and churches continued to use them long after the company ceased production of them.
Beginning
The Wurlitzer family of Germany gained a reputation for making high quality musical instruments in the 17th century. A descendant, Rudolph Wurlitzer moved to the United States. In 1856, he established the company bearing his name as a retail business by selling $700 worth of musical instruments imported from friends and family. He advanced his business during the Civil War by selling instruments to the U.S. Army. He became the largest supplier of band instruments in the U. S. In 1880, the company built and sold its first piano.
Acquisitions
In 1908, Wurlitzer bought the Dekliest Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company and in 1910, the Hope-Jones Organ Company. The company then manufactured player pianos and band organs at its factory in North Tonawanda, New York. In 1919, Wurlitzer bought the Melville-Clark Piano Company in DeKalb, Illinois and manufactured pianos of different quality, price range and style under a variety of names including Apollo Piano Company, The DeKalb Piano Company and the Wurlitzer Grand Piano Company.
Organs
During the silent movie era, the Wurlitzer Company introduced its large cinema and theater organs, which became known as "the Mighty Wurlitzers". The instruments, large enough to fill a room, produced dramatic musical soundtracks for the motion pictures.The organs were popular for their ability to imitate orchestra sounds such as trumpets, flutes, xylophones, chimes, drums, cymbals and gongs. According to "Smithsonian Magazine," the organs were so popular at one point that the company was shipping one Wurlitzer a day to theaters in the U. S., Canada, England and Australia.
Jukeboxes
Wurlitzer started producing jukeboxes in 1934 and was soon producing more than 45,000 jukeboxes each year. When World War II started in 1941, Wurlitzer factories produced government mandated war-related materials but continued to make a limited number of jukeboxes. The company continued to change the jukeboxes to reflect shifts in technology, such as the introduction of 78 rpm vinyl records. Not counting radio, jukeboxes were arguably the most popular electronic equipment in western culture until it was surpassed by television.
Variety
As of 2010, Radio City Music Hall in New York City had the largest original Wurlitzer organ still in operation. The instrument, which was installed in 1932, has more than 4,000 pipes that range in size from 32-feet long to the size of a pencil. Wurlitzer no longer makes organs, but was still producing jukeboxes and pianos as of 2010. In 1989, the company introduced the first compact disc jukebox. The company also makes vending machines that dispense snacks, magazines, newspapers and cigarettes.
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