Estey Organ Museum

ENGINE HOUSE GALLERY COMPLETED
Estey Organ Museum Plans Grand Opening

Brattleboro, VT, USA, June 2, 2003 -- The public is invited to the Grand Opening of the Estey Organ Museum's Engine House Gallery on June 15th from 2 - 5pm at the former Estey Organ Company factory on Birge Street. Come celebrate the start of Brattleboro's newest museum.

"We are very pleased to be able to share this with the community," said Cynthia Wilcox, president of EOM. "A lot of hard work has gone into creating this, and we're just getting started!"

The Engine House was originally the power center for the factory, providing the energy to turn shafts and belts for tools used throughout the slate covered buildings. Last summer, the Estey Organ Museum decided to renovate the space and install exhibits, giving a preview of things to come when the museum expands to fill more of the original factory buildings in coming years.

With the help of local businesses, banks, foundations, and individuals, the Museum was able to install a new, flat floor, repair and restore windows, whitewash the ceiling and walls, install electricity, and numerous other fixes to make the room presentable to the public.

One large gift enabled the group to purchase and install an Estey pipe organ - number 1814 - that was originally built at the factory and sent off to Alabama for use by a church almost 80 years ago. Other gifts of instruments, such as a 2 manual reed organ, and Estey ephemera have expanded the museum's collections.

The gallery will feature the three major types of organs built by the Estey enterprise - reed organs, pipe organs, and electronic organs. Estey was the largest manufacturer of reed organs in the U.S., built many pipe organs for churches around the world, and was instrumental in pioneering efforts to make music by synthesizing sounds using electricity.

The Estey Organ Museum plans to be open every weekend, Saturday and Sunday, from 1 to 5pm throughout the summer and until Columbus Day in October. Admission is free for members; $2 for others.

For further information, interviews, or screenshots, please contact Christopher Grotke.

The Estey Organ Museum was founded in 2002 as a non-profit organization to celebrate the heritage of Estey Organ Company of Brattleboro, Vermont by the collection, restoration, display and performance of Estey and other organs; by the preservation, research, interpretation and dissemination of historical information about the company, its products and manufacturing practices, its owners, employees, markets, customers and competitors, and its effect in the context of Brattleboro and American history over time; and by the creation of a museum in which the aforementioned activities may occur.

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