The Fox Theatre

The Mighty Mo Pipe Organ

	History of Pipe Organ		When can I hear the Mighty Mo?
	Pipe Organ Specifications		American Theatre Organ Society
	1963 Restoration		Who is the current Fox Theatre Organist?
	Famous Organists

History of Pipe Organ

The Organ was valued at $400,000.00 in 1974. Its value today is incalculable.
It is the giant Möller theater organ Mighty Mo, that is the Fox Theatre's crown jewel.
This irreplaceable relic of movie theater lore is a masterpiece of organ design,
capable of producing sound as delicate as a dainty piccolo to wall-shuddering
accompaniment for a battle scene. From Beethoven to Sousa, Mighty Mo has no
rival in ability and versatility.

Mighty Mo was custom-made for the Fox Theatre in 1929 for the then astronomical
price of $42,000.00 by M. P. Möller Inc. of Hagerstown, Maryland. It's the second
largest theater organ in the world with 42 ranks, four manuals and 376 stop tabs,
having been surpassed in size — but not melodic beauty — around 1933 by the
58-rank Wurllitzer at Radio City Music hall. There are 3,622 pipes, spread out over
five chambers, ranging in size from a ball point pen to 32 feet tall and big enough
around for a man to stand in.

The wind required for the organ is supplied by a blower which is powered by a
75-horsepower motor. This electro-pneumatically operated instrument
is so vast and complex that it has real instruments in it such as a marimba, xylophone
and glockenspiel. The Theatre's grand piano can be remotely played from the
organ's keyboard.

Mighty Mo can produce sounds like a clarinet, trumpet, saxophone and all other
orchestral instruments, as well as sounds like thunder, a fire bell, chimes and a
steamboat whistle.

By 1954, Mighty Mo was in such a state of neglect, it just quit. In 1963,
Joe Patten, The Fox Theatre's retired technical director — who had fallen
in love with this grand and complicated instrument, collaborated with organist
Bob Van Camp and a few members of the American Theatre Organ Society
to restore the organ. With financial support from the Fox, over the course of nearly
9 months, Patten spent hundreds of hours painstakingly rewiring the organ with 36,000
feet (nearly seven miles) of new wire, rebuilding the entire organ from the inside out.

The organ has been entertaining audiences since its reintroduction to the public on
Thanksgiving Day that same year. Patten maintained it up until his recent retirement,
and continues to oversee its care as a volunteer. His records and technical wizardry
assure that Mighty Mo will be singing loud and clear for future generations of theater
organ enthusiasts.

It takes enormous skill and musical virtuosity to play this behemoth, and organists
consider a performance on Mighty Mo the pinnacle of their career. Bob Van Camp was
the house organist for more than 25 years. When he died, Patten and Atlanta Landmarks
board member Robert L. Foreman Jr. sprinkled his ashes in the attic over the
organ chambers.

Pipe Organ Specifications
PDF documents (approximately 95k each)
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© Michael Portman

1963 Restoration

On January 1, 1963, the Fox's Möller Pipe Organ was unplayable. Yet, by November
of that year, the Pipe Organ was in the best shape it had been since its creation and
installation by Möller! This miraculous achievement was the work of a team of pipe
organ experts from the Atlanta Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society.

Here was the deal negotiated by Bob Van Camp, renowned pipe organist and Master
of Ceremonies of the Atlanta Pops Concerts then held at the Fox, with Noble Arnold,
the distinguished and longtime Manager of the Fox: all of the labor for the work would
be contributed by the ATOS members, the materials would be paid for by the Fox, the
work would be done at night and on weekends when no movies were being shown in
the Theatre, and no more than five ATOS workers would be permitted to be in the
Theatre at any one time.

Joe G. Patten, a charter Trustee of Atlanta Landmarks, Inc. which saved and now owns
the Fox, became head of the team, and Bob Van Camp remained the liaison with
Noble Arnold throughout the project.

The Pipe Organ was unplayable because, over the years, many of the single strand wires connecting the console to the five chambers had broken because of the friction caused
by the continuing up-and-down motion as the console moved on its elevator for its
performances. Just beneath the console these wires are incased in a large cable.
After his analysis of the situation, Mr. Patten determined that the starting point would be
the cutting and replacement of that cable--a move considered a radical step by many
of the ATOS workers.

Once this step was accomplished, there followed the process of, first, identifying
and recording the location of the wires coming from each of the 3622 pipes and 120
shutters and connecting each of them to a junction board located in the pit directly
below the console.

Second, identifying and recording the wires which came from each of the 61
keys of each of the four console manuals and those from the 32 pedals and then
connecting those to another junction board within and at the rear of the console.

Third, creating a cable, sheathed in plastic and using stranded wire which is larger and
more flexible, which now extends from the console junction board to the new junction
board in the pit below the console. This cable which must adjust to the up-and-down
motion of the console, will do so because of the character of the wires within it and
its plastic sheathing.

A tribute to the success and quality of this remarkable enterprise can be found in the fact that,
since 1963, only one of the newly installed wires has failed! This gigantic project took some nine months of constant work by the ATOS team and used some seven miles of wire!

With Bob Van Camp at the console, the Fox's "Mighty Mo" performed again
in its full glory in November of 1963.

Bob Van Camp

The piano from the Picadilly Theater in Chicago was added to the Pipe Organ by Mr. Patten
in 1965 and, by virtue of an intricate device designed and created by him, is played from
the console.

Still under the expert management of Joe Patten, the Pipe Organ has been carefully
maintained in its pristine condition since 1963!

Famous Organists who have played the Mighty Mo

Dennis James, Hector Olivera, John Seng, Lee Erwin, Lyn Larsen, Tom Hazleton, Billy Nalle,
Jonas Nordwall, Walt Strony, Graham Jackson, Homer Knowles, Don Mathis, Robert Irvin, Jay Mitchell, Walt Winn, Virgil Fox, Bob Van Camp and Larry Embury.
Simon Gledhill has played informally.

Dale M. Stone Sr., Fox Organist 1935-1936

When can I hear the Mighty Mo?

Audiences can experience the magic of The Fox's "Mighty Mo" organ during the
Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival and The Atlanta Ballet's Nutcracker.

On the Calendar of Events page, you will see certain shows with this symbol:

This icon lets you know that the "Mighty Mo" will be played for that particular performance.

ATOS

The American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS) is dedicated to the preservation of a unique American art form — the theatre pipe organ and its music. The membership includes musicians, technicians, and enthusiastic listeners — all devoted to the preservation and continued enjoyment of what we believe to be a national treasure. Learn more about the ATOS at their website.

Who is the current Fox Theatre Organist?

Larry Douglas Embury is The Fox Theatre's Organist in Residence.

Larry Douglas Embury presides over the thunder-and-whisper majesty of "Mighty Mo." Larry's new CD/DVD album from The Fox is the world's first theatre organ recording created especially for surround sound-home theatre systems. "The recording perfectly combines various sound sources...another sparkling facet to this musical/visual delight." — ATOS Theatre Organ Journal.

Learn more about Larry Douglas Embury at his website.

Larry Douglas Embury