The inoperable instrument could have been scrapped — the organ was irreparable — at least in the county budget. The eight-ton instrument was installed in the Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in 1919.
The Commission learned it would cost nearly $5 million to start repairing it, a heartbreaking figure, said Commission President Cheryl Musgrave.
“Everyone gasped when we saw the final number,” she said. “Nobody expected it to be that big — $4.8 million as a base price.”
Not to mention restoring the coliseum around a massive pipe organ. According to the report by D.C Schroth, the building itself had been updated in the mid century in a way that impeded the organ “speaking” properly into the Coliseum.
This would also need to be remedied to let the organ “speak” properly. Musgrave estimates that would cost between $500,000 and $1 million alone.
“It was shattering — it was clear that there was no way that we could locally put the organ back into working order, and to put the building back into the shape that it needed to be in to accommodate the organ.”
It’s been in pieces since 2013, stored over five rooms in the Coliseum. It’s been unplayable for decades. Plans for the University of Evansville to restore it fell through.
But the new owner is the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation in Elkins Park, Pensilvania. Edward Thome is CEO. His organization is also raising funds to restore a neglected but beloved, important building — the next home for the organ.
“It really is just a fantastic opportunity to bring in a wonderful piece of musical history here that can continue to live on and serve the community throughout this project.”
They’ll take the organ in April and store it inside Lynwood Hall, the grand 1899 estate of a local aristocratic family built on 33 acres.
The connection between the County and the Foundation was made on Facebook, of all places.
Local organ professional and enthusiast Seth Daily posted his appeal when he heard the county couldn’t restore it.
Gavin McIlhinney is coordinator for acquiring the instrument for installation at Lynnewood Hall. He saw Daily’s post online.
“Being that it's a symphonic instrument, it very much resembles the sound of a symphony orchestra, which is crucial for such an elegant space,” McIlhinney said.
The Lynnewood Preservation Foundation will also have to fundraise to have the organ restored, Thome said. An exact timeline to visit the working organ is not known.
“So we're kind of in the stabilization and planning phases right now,” he said.
The organ being restored instead of discarded was a relief to Musgrave.
“God had delivered an absolute miracle to us,” Musgrave said — a miracle for the County, as well as the Foundation taking ownership.
This project came about because the commission is working to stabilize and restore the shuttered Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum overall.
Recently the commission celebrated putting the $6 million project into motion, which includes some new wiring, heating and cooling and fire suppression.
However, Musgrave said they need an additional $25 to $30 million to make the building what it can and should be.
“And we'll be able to open the building come January, but it won't have a kitchen, it'll have the same old bathrooms, it won't have a new coat of paint. You know, all of the work that we did will kind of be invisible.”
It still needs new loading docks, and handicap accessible upgrades. She is praying for another miracle — a project benefactor.
