Wurlitzer Styles

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Wurlitzer Theatre Organ Styles

The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company developed numerous theatre pipe organ styles in the early 20th century to suit venues of all sizes — from small neighborhood cinemas to grand movie palaces. Each style number refers to a specific configuration of manuals, pipe ranks, percussions, and trap instruments.

Style Specifications Table

Style # Built Manuals Ranks Perc. Traps Console Type Earlier Style Later Style Notes
1 30 2 4 4 7 Piano Console A 135
100 20 2 3 1 0 Scroll Console 115
105 38 2 3 2 0 Piano Console
108 49 2 3 4 3 Piano Console 125
109 55 2 3 4 17 Piano Console 130
110 8 2 3 2 0 Piano Console
115 2 3 1 0 Scroll Console 100
120 2 3 2 0 Piano Console 105
125 1 2 3 4 3 Piano Console 108
130 2 3 4 17 Piano Console 109
135 203 2 4 4 17 Piano Console 1
140 5 2 4 3 17 Curved Console B
150 28 2 5 3 19 Curved Console B Earlier Special B
160 84 2 6 4 17 Piano Console 2
165 19 2 6 4 20 Curved Console D
170 15 2 5 3 17 Curved Console
175 6 2 7 4 18 Curved Console ED
185 33 2 7 5 14 Curved Console 3
190 44 2 8 4 18 Curved Console
2 3 2 6 4 17 Piano Console L 160
200 17 2 8 5 14 Curved Console F
205 6 2 10 5 14 Curved Console HNP
210 51 2 9 5 15 Curved Console 5
215 14 2 10 6 14 Curved Console
216 12 2 10 6 14 Curved Console
220 7 3 10 6 15 Curved Console H3M
225 1 3 11 6 14 Curved Console
230 6 3 11 5 15 Curved Console Balaban 1A
235 64 3 11 7 15 Curved Console Balaban 1
240 24 3 13 6 12 Curved Console Balaban 2
250 4 3 14 6 14 Curved Console
260 62 3 15 7 14 Curved Console Balaban 3
270 4 4 21 7 20 Curved Console
285 7 4 32 9 22 Curved Console
3 47 2 7 5 14 Curved Console N 185
35 6 3 15 6 15 Curved Console 260 Solo Manual 3 Octaves
4 11 2 8 5 10 Curved Console
40 1 2 3 1 0 Scroll Console
5 1 2 9 5 15 Curved Console 210
6 2 3 13 6 4 Curved Console Solo Manual 3 Octaves
A 1 2 4 4 17 Piano Console 1
B 225 2 4 3 17 Curved Console M 140
Balaban 1 3 11 7 16 Curved Console 235
Balaban 1A 7 3 11 6 16 Curved Console 230
Balaban 2 6 3 13 5 15 Curved Console 240
Balaban 3 6 3 15 6 17 Curved Console 260
Balaban 4 4 3 19 6 17 Curved Console Style 260 + 4 ranks
C2 3 2 3 0 0 Scroll Console Console attached to case
C3 3 2 3 0 0 Scroll Console Console detached
CH 135
D 201 2 6 4 20 Curved Console 165
E 165 2 7 4 18 Curved Console 175
F 81 2 8 5 14 Curved Console 200
F3M 13 3 8 5 14 Curved Console 200
Fox Special 5 4 36 13 27 Curved Console 2 Consoles - Main & Slave
G 2 10 5 14 Curved Console 205 Same as H-NP
Granada 1 6 3 8 5 16 Curved Console England only - Coupler Manual
Granada 2 6 3 8 5 16 Curved Console England only - Coupler Manual
H 56 2 10 6 14 Curved Console
H3M 19 3 10 6 15 Curved Console 220
HNP 23 2 10 5 14 Curved Console 205 Same as G
HYAMS (Gaumont British) 2 3 8 4 14 Curved Console England only - Coupler Manual
J 13 2 7 5 14 Curved Console N
L 9 2 6 5 14 Piano Console 2
M 6 2 4 3 17 Curved Console B PC available
N 3 2 7 5 14 Curved Console J 3
Publix 1 17 4 20 8 9 Curved Console Crawford Special
Publix 2 4 22 8 9 Curved Console
Publix 3 4 25 8 9 Curved Console
Publix 4 1 4 26 8 9 Curved Console
R13 1 2 6 1 0 Curved Console
R14 1 2 9 2 0 Scroll Console
R15 4 2 10 4 0 Scroll Console
R16 2 3 10 2 0 Scroll Console
R20 7 3 12 2 0 Scroll Console
R25 3 14 2 0 Scroll Console
R5 6 2 5 1 0 Scroll Console
RJ11 6 2 7 3 0 Scroll Console
RJ12 7 2 7 4 5 Scroll Console
RJ2 1 2 3 0 0 Scroll Console Rebuilt by factory as RJ3
RJ3 1 2 3 2 0 Scroll Console
RJ4 11 2 4 0 0 Scroll Console
RJ6 1 2 6 2 0 Scroll Console
RJ8 2 2 6 2 0 Scroll Console
SCH10 3 2 5 0 0 Scroll Console
SCH11 5 2 4 0 0 Scroll Console
SCH20 6 2 5 1 0 Curved Console
SCH21 2 2 5 1 0 Scroll Console
SCH22 1 2 5 1 0 Scroll Console
SCH25 5 2 6 1 0 Scroll Console
SCH30 1 2 6 1 0 Curved Console
SCH32 1 2 7 2 4 Curved Console
SCH35 2 2 7 2 0 Curved Console
SCH40 1 2 7 1 0 Curved Console
SCH5 4 2 3 0 0 Scroll Console
SCH51 1 2 8 1 0 Curved Console
SCH6 1 2 3 1 0 Scroll Console
SCH61 5 3 9 2 0 Curved Console
SCH7 4 2 3 0 0 Scroll Console
SCH75 1 3 21 2 0 Curved Console
SP 107
Union 1 3 3 8 5 12 Curved Console England only - Coupler Manual
Union 2 2 3 7 5 12 Curved Console England only - Coupler Manual
Union 3 4 3 8 4 12 Curved Console England only
V 26 2 8 1 0 Piano Console

Understanding Wurlitzer Styles

The STYLE field in Wurlitzer documentation refers to the standard model designation of an instrument. Wurlitzer developed a wide range of standard models, each labeled with a style number or code (e.g., Style 135, Style J, Style BAL1). However, a significant number of instruments built were classified as specials — unique configurations tailored for specific clients, theatres, or musical preferences.

Style Series

There were four overlapping series of style designs over the course of Wurlitzer's production history. Some styles evolved and were rebranded over time. For example:

  • Style J became Style N, then Style 3, and eventually Style 185.

Some styles were custom-designed for specific theatre chains:

  • BAL1, BAL1A, BAL2, BAL3, BAL4: Built for Balaban & Katz.
  • GRA1, GRA2: Built for the Granada Theatres.
  • UNN1, UNN2: Built for Union Theatres (UK).
  • HYMGB: Built for Gaumont-British Theatres.

Other prefixes indicate the instrument type or installation context:

  • R, RJ: Residence models with cabinet or junior players.
  • SCH: Church organ models (Scheme series).

Common Special Suffixes

These suffixes often appear after the style number to indicate modifications:

X
Divided chamber instrument (applies to ≤7 ranks)
NP
No piano included
PL
Includes player mechanism
EC
Echo chamber
2M, 3M, 4M, 5M
Indicates the number of manuals
3C, 4C
Console with a coupler 3rd/4th manual (UK only)

Why Were Specials Ordered?

More specials were built than standard styles. Reasons included:

  • Custom design for theatre acoustics or layout
  • Requests by specific organists
  • Aesthetic or competitive advantage for the theatre
  • Budget or pricing strategies
  • Sales incentives for Wurlitzer representatives

Specials could involve:

  • Adding or substituting ranks
  • Expanding percussions or traps
  • Changing console configuration
  • Dividing chambers for better tonal distribution

See Also

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