Comeback cinema group praises organ arrival

ICONIC: The Wurlitzer will be the first in Scottish cinemas since the 1930s (Image: Friends of Broadway Prestwick)

The Friends of the Broadway Prestwick has praised an “amazing” donation of an original organ, in the midst of its restoration.

The Wurlitzer organ was welcomed by the Prestwick cinema group, following its donation by a private collector, and will become Scotland’s first since the golden age of the 1930s.

Originally developed to accompany the classic silent films , the American-built instrument will make its return as the reopening of the South Ayrshire venue nears.

Guy Walker, Chair of Friends of the Broadway Prestwick, is excited at the organ’s delivery and for the cinema to join other high-profile global venues in displaying it.

He said: “The project is inspiring people from far and wide, as this amazing donation shows.

“We join the likes of the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, Troxy Theatre in London, and even the El Captian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard by having their own, very rare, ‘mighty Wurlitzer.

“Something that has to be heard to be believed.”

The project group announced that the classic organ will be available to view in-person at upcoming openings of the Broadway Cinema Experience.

The Wurlitzers were first built North Tonawanda, New York, and were shipped across to Europe throughout the 1920s and 1930s.

Scotland’s only other operational Wurlitzer organ can be found at Pollokshaws Burgh Hall.

The organ was originally installed in Luton’s Ritz Cinema in 1937, featuring the iconic pillars and vase, and was first played by H.Robinson Cleaver at the venue’s opening.

Friends of the Broadway Prestwick was started in 2012 by Colin and Leica Malkin and has seen over 1,500 members join their mission to restore the iconic building once again.

The 1,060 capacity cinema was first opened in April 1935, designed by architect Alister Gladstone MacDonald, and instantly became a “jewel in Prestwick’s crown” and a community hub.