Barton Theater Organ

On October 24, 1987, a fire broke out near the furnace and soon engulfed nearly every corner of the store. When the firemen broke through the front doors the intense heat was measured at 1,200 degrees farenheight. Miraculously, the fire burned around the single organ chamber, badly scorching the exposed 16′ Bourdon extension and the console. And so the rebuilding of the store from the ground up began and on September 1, 1988 the Mole Hole once again opened its doors. During the rebuild, the organ chamber was enlarged, and a Kimball Tibia and Tuba were added to the original Barton ranks of Vox Humana, Stirg, Diapason and Stopped Flute. As a result of the fire damage, the console required new keyboards, re-engraving the stop tablets and a complete refinishing. (You can still see a bit of scorching around the top portions of the pipes, a grim reminder of the fire.)