MOUNT VERNON, WA – Lincoln Theatre recently upgraded its audio system with an RCF line array system featuring HDL6-A active two-way line array modules and HDL15-AS active 15” flyable subs. The upgrade also included a new digital console and networking capability. Dimensional Communications installed the system.
More details from RCF (www.rcf.it) about the Lincoln Theatre:
The Lincoln Theatre, a restored 1926 historic vaudeville & silent movie house in downtown Mount Vernon, presents a year-round schedule of concerts, current and classic films, and community events. The theatre works with local school districts, hosting school performances and workshops by performing artists on tour, as well as annual concerts by secondary school bands. The theatre hosts concerts by the local youth symphony, presents community-sponsored children’s theatre productions, as well as serving as a venue for fund-raising events by local service organizations. The Lincoln Theatre Center Foundation, founded in 1987, is a registered nonprofit organization supported by over 800 members from Skagit and adjoining counties.
In 1926:
* Cost of Building: $100,000
* Cost of Wurlitzer Organ: $22,500
* Cost of Furnishings & Equipment: $32,500
* Weekly Payroll: $160
When the Lincoln Theatre was built, it was hailed for its originality and beauty. The original owner, Eldon Weigel Pollock, enlisted noted Seattle architect William Aitken to design the Lincoln in a modified Renaissance Revival style. The Argus reported on May 13, 1926: “Nothing like it has ever been constructed before…the theatrical world is sitting back astounded.” The Lincoln is what’s called a period theater, which were in vogue around the time it was built. Some theaters built in the twenties had an Egyptian motif; one Seattle theater had a Chinese motif, but the Lincoln was a little different for the Northwest; it had a Spanish motif. Manager Edwin Halberg (business partner of Eldon Pollock) ignored the pleas of his friends that he follow the crowd and make it Egyptian. He foresaw a time when movie fans would tire of such a motif. He personally designed the luxurious carpet, the decorative effect on the walls, the hangings and draperies, and the lighting effects. The primary colors were blue, yellow, and red. The foyer was lit with quaint, wrought-iron lanterns with Spanish design patterns. The walls have what’s known as a travertine finish.
Of the 98 Wurlitzer organs remaining in their original theatres in the U.S., the Lincoln Theatre’s Wurlitzer is one of only two 2-manual, 7-rank D-2 Full Unit Orchestra models. The Lincoln Wurlitzer features seven ranks of pipes, an original Wurlitzer remote piano, and a complete sound effect system for silent films, including beats, castanets, drums, cymbals, glockenspiels, and marimbas, as well as a set of silver chimes mounted on the auditorium’s painted columns. A portable console is used when the main console is covered by the stage extension. This unit controls the same pipes as the original console.
The volunteer organists who perform before each film showing are Fred Beeks, Nick Nicolai, Harvey Rossiter, Glen DesJardins and Katie Moyer.
