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A collection of Christmas carols performed by organist Jonas Nordwall on the mighty Wurlitzer at Organ Grinder Portland. UPDATED December 23, 2024 – A new Version 2, with improved audio remixed by Nathan Avakian. Presented without ads, for a seamless musical experience. Previous Version 1 – Presented with limited commercial interruption with nostalgic ads and…
In light of the recent passing of Paul Quarino, we are releasing these excerpts from his most recent interview, conducted in March, 2022, at the Egyptian Theatre in Coos Bay, Oregon. Paul James Quarino April 21, 1942 – December 15, 2024 Music: “The Hands of Time” by Michel Legrand, performed by Paul Quarino at Organ…
In 1970, a group of filmmakers captured the final days of the Oriental Theatre, a movie palace in Portland, Oregon. With dramatizations of the glory days of cinema, this documentary captures the wonder that this grand building inspired in patrons, as well as portraying its tragic demolition. The Oriental Theatre’s Wurlitzer pipe organ was preserved…
Employees and friends describe the generosity of Organ Grinder co-founder Paul Forchuk, while laughing about the difficulties receiving that generosity would sometimes entail. Featuring: Vicki Buck, Stan Cadwallader, and Jonas Nordwall, with photos of Russ Cornelison and Jim Nabors. Music: “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin, performed by David Lee at Organ Grinder Portland.
Don Feely performs The Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa at the Organ Grinder restaurant in Portland, Oregon. Includes a special appearance by the mechanical chimp! Originally recorded early February, 1996 by Ted Welty.
Mascots at the Organ Grinder restaurant in Portland, Oregon, dressed in red-white-and-blue garb for the 1976 United States Bicentennial celebration.
Rich Greenland, that’s who! Rich lives near the Wurlitzer Building in North Tonawanda, New York. In 2023, Rich took extensive drone videos of the site, and posted excerpts of the footage to YouTube: Rich has graciously licensed his footage for use in the Organ Grinder documentary. A bit of history: Already an established company making…
Who knew that you couldn’t buy the exact font used on the Organ Grinder sign? There are a lot of “Old West” fonts out there with a “spurred” style on the letters – you see them a lot on taverns/saloons and country music albums alike. But, as it turns out, the lettering on the original…
Mark Reed demonstrates his reproducing grand piano. This piano was originally installed at the Portland Publix Theatre (later the Paramount theatre, now the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall) in Portland, Oregon. The piano was manufactured by Wm. Knabe & Co. and used an Ampico “Re-Enacting” (reproducing) mechanism, which not only recorded the notes of a performance,…
Launching the “At the Organ Grinder 3 1/2 Volume Collection” After months of research & preparation, we are enthusiastically delighted to announce the release of “3 1/2 Volumes” of Organ Grinder performances on CD as a means of crowdfunding for the documentary. You can order these CDs today! Please read on for details. Big Update!…
A whimsical, musical re-creation of a 30-year-old poster from the Organ Grinder restaurant. (Details about the poster at the end of the video.) Presented in 5.1 Channel Surround on Supported Devices. Audio Warning: Turn your volume down at the end of the video! As of 2024 when this was uploaded, YouTube plays 5.1 content at…
As part of the documentary project, Don Feely demonstrated some of the rhythm unit percussions and sound effects (“traps”) that he purchased after the Organ Grinder’s Portland location closed and the organ was being parted out. The Organ Grinder was innovative in many ways, one such way being that co-founder Dennis Hedberg upgraded the traditional…
Early in the planning stages for the first Organ Grinder, the founders used an architecture firm which specialized in restaurants and hotels. The design was very conventional – a rectangular building, with the entrance and kitchen at the front, and the organ at the back. No towering windows showing off the pipes to the street,…
Yesterday, we returned to the Architectural Heritage Center in Portland, Oregon. The AHC had just unearthed a set of slides from the architecture firm Martin, Soderstrom and Matteson (now Soderstrom Architects), originally co-founded by Will Martin, the architect who designed the Organ Grinder building. The slides feature the Organ Grinder building in 1973 around the…
As part of the documentary project, Jonas Nordwall sat for an extended interview. Jonas is the Organist and Artistic Director of Music at First United Methodist Church, Portland, Oregon. He was also very well known as a performer at the Organ Grinder restaurants. At the end, he gave us a demonstration of the Mary L….
This week, we visited the Architectural Heritage Center in Portland, Oregon to view the Will Martin archives. Will Martin was the architect who designed the unique Organ Grinder building. Will is most famous for designing Pioneer Courthouse Square in Downtown Portland. Among other items, we found this concept drawing of the Organ Grinder exterior, rendered…
The Organ Grinder restaurants in Portland and Denver were special places to spend your birthday back in the 70’s, 80’s, and into the 90’s. Now, you can send an Organ Grinder birthday greeting to anyone by sharing this video’s YouTube link. The clip used here was recorded at the Portland location in 1996, shortly before…
Located in Coos Bay, Oregon, the Egyptian Theatre is home to the last remaining Wurlitzer pipe organ in Oregon which is still playing in its original location. This short film features a demonstration of the historic instrument, with interviews of Paul Quarino, an original and long-time Organ Grinder performer who is now a caretaker of…
Jonas Nordwall performs the “Superman March” by composer John Williams on the Mary L. Collins Organ, First United Methodist Church, Portland. (4 manuals, 111 ranks.) As part of the Organ Grinder Documentary Project, Jonas sat for an extended interview this week. At the end, he gave us a demonstration of the Mary L. Collins organ,…
There is a connection between the Organ Grinder restaurants and the legendary Earthquake Ethel’s Roadhouse nightclub in Beaverton. Several of the same people were involved, and Ethel’s will have a chapter in the documentary. And here, we are happy to present to you, an original painting of the mythical Ethel herself, loaned to the production…
