A Wonder Organ for "A Wonderful Life"
We've surpassed our original goal of $10,000 - now we are pursuing an additional $5,000 goal to unlock our guardian angel's new matching donation challenge.
When the guardian angel who pledged to match $10,000 in donations toward the Wonder Organ heard the campaign had exceeded that goal with more than a month left to go, he said three words - "Let it ride" - and pledged to match all donations we receive up to $15,000.
With the campaign already over $12,000, it will only take a little push to put it over the top once again.
Thank you to 55 donors who have contributed to the "A Wonder Organ for A Wonderful Life" campaign since September, we will complete the necessary work for the Robert Morton organ to play, or as we say "sing," for the first time in decades before our holiday screening of "It's A Wonderful Life" on Sunday, December 14th.
The New York Theatre Organ Society (NYTOS) has been shepherding the project for years and intends to have several of the instrument's pipes working for the event, which will feature pre-show caroling led by Statement Arts and accompanied by the organ. The movie will be introduced by Mary Owen, daughter of Donna Reed who co-stars with James Stewart in the holiday classic.
Help us reach the $30,000 mark so we can continue to bring the Wonder Organ's majestic sound - the voice and soul of the theatre - back to life.
Let's get the organ to sing for the holidays!
The ongoing campaign to restore the United Palace’s Robert-Morton Wonder Organ has found a guardian angel who pledged $10,000 if we can raise a matching amount before November 15, 2025.
If we make our goal, we will celebrate by staging a short organ concert of holiday music and caroling before we screen “It’s A Wonderful Life” on Sunday, December 14. (Although our donor has chosen to remain anonymous, we refer to him as Clarence in honor of the angel in the movie.)
Thanks to our previous donors and our hard-working volunteers, we have now reached a stage where we can begin restoring more of the actual pipework of the left organ chamber. Last year we staged a silent movie festival with a borrowed instrument (see video above). But it would be so much more fun to get enough pipes working in order to play our own organ.
Our hope is to restore the left chamber violins and one of the trumpets for the holiday season. Your donations will help cover the cost of restoring these complicated pipes, as well as making some improvements to the organ’s blower and winding.
Please donate today. Generous community support over the years has allowed us to incrementally restore the organ, led painstakingly by Nick Myers of the New York Theatre Organ Society (NYTOS).
Last year with your generous support we got the organ to make SOUND for the first time in more than twenty years. On December 14 you can help make it begin to SING, and sing along with it yourself.
Help bring the Wonder Organ's majestic sound - the voice and soul of the theatre - back to life. Visit our donation page for a list of perks for various levels, including the opportunity for a private dinner in the theatre’s exquisite VIP Lounge.
In 1930, there were approximately 12,000 theatre organs in the United States. Today, only a few hundred remain, with fewer than 30 still in their original location and condition. The Robert-Morton Wonder Organ in the United Palace is the last one of its kind in the United States still in its original venue and one of the last remaining all-original theatre organs in the world.
The restoration of the house left organ chamber began in 2016 following years of water damage and fire. It will take several more years to complete the house right chamber and console. But with continued support (and a little luck) we could finish the house left chamber completely in 2026.
We have featured the Wonder Organ to accompany silent movies, such as “Nosferatu” in 2022, and a mini-festival of silent film shorts starring Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, and Buster Keaton in 1924. The United Palace is dedicated to restoring this one-of-a-kind instrument and continuing to feature it in supporting and headlining roles as part of our programming.
Please give today. Your continued generosity will ensure this historic instrument can inspire and educate future generations.
2 tickets to "It’s A Wonderful Life" and the pre-show organ concert on December 14, plus your name on a flute pipe in the organ.
Invitation to a party on-stage before the December 14 It’s A Wonderful Life screening, the $50 perks, PLUS your name on a color reed in the organ (oboe, saxophone, clarinet).
2 tickets to all Movies at the Palace (with and without Lin-Manuel Miranda), through 2026, the $50 and $100 perks, PLUS your name on a string or diapason pipe in the organ.
A private, behind-the-scenes tour of the United Palace by CEO Mike Fitelson, the $50, $100, and $250 perks, PLUS your name on a percussive instrument in the organ.
A private take-out dinner for two in the VIP Lounge, the $50, $100, and $250 perks, PLUS your name on a tuba or post horn rank, the loudest pipes in the organ.
A private screening of a movie of your choice (within reason) with a bunch of your friends in the United Palace, the $50, $100, $250, $500, and $1,000 perks, PLUS your name on a plaque in the house left organ chamber.