History of the Doug Bailey Memorial Theatre Pipe Organ

   
            In 1917 the M.P. Moller Pipe Organ Co of Hagerstown, Maryland installed a three-manual, seventeen rank theater organ (Opus 2473) in Lowe’s Palace Theater, Washington, DC.  In 1925 this instrument was replaced by a larger and more modern instrument: a three-manual, thirty-two rank behemoth (Opus 4319) with a full set of tuned and untuned percussions.  This organ was played by virtuoso theater organist Dick Liebert during his years in Washington.  It was no longer used after 1932 when he moved to New York City to become one the staff organists at Radio City Music Hall.

            In the early 1940s, part of the organ (eight ranks and some tuned percussions) was installed at a church in Alexandria, Virginia.  The original console was replaced by a two-manual Moller theater console from Washington’s Shoreham Hotel ballroom, and the original relay was replaced by a much smaller Kimball relay.  Subsequently, this instrument (minus the blower) was placed in storage until purchased by organist Doug Bailey in 1964.  In 1965 he installed what remained of the original organ at Doug Bailey Advertising in Rockville, Maryland.  Mr. Bailey used it for live radio broadcasting, film sound tracks, radio and television commercials, and recordings for LP vinyl discs.  He enlarged the instrument to eleven ranks, added untuned percussions, a Wurlitzer xylophone, and located a blower from the Maine Theater in Portland, Maine.  The instrument was installed in a single chamber, with one set of swell shades to prevent an overpowering sound.  The entire space occupied by the organ, including the studio, relays, and blower room, was only 900 square feet.  The recording studio was designed to augment sound reflection through the use of non-parallel walls and reflective masonite ceiling tiles.  Additional reverberation was achieved by means of an electronic tape delay system.  The organ was used on a daily basis, broadcast on WPIK and WXLN, from December 1965 until Mr. Bailey retired in 1989.  At that time it was removed, minus the Kimball relay and some of the large bass octaves, and placed in a rental warehouse in Hagerstown, Maryland.  Coincidentally, the storage location was quite near the M. P. Moller factory where the instrument was originally built.

            In October, 2003, Mrs. Joy Bailey, widow of Doug Bailey, generously donated the organ to the Frostburg Palace Theatre, where it will be installed and maintained by the Western Maryland Theater Organ Society.