Those are some pipes: Immense organ’s restoration under way

The historic organ at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City boasts more than 33,000 pipes, all concealed behind the walls of the cavernous auditorium best known for hosting the Miss America pageant.

“I tell people it’s sort of like a race car running on two cylinders right now,” said staff organist Steven Ball.

The nonprofit Historic Organ Restoration Committee, which has been refurbishing the hidden gem, plans to have it functioning at 50 percent by the summer, when hundreds of organ aficionados expect to visit.

The 150-ton instrument, built by the Midmer-Losh Co., hasn’t been fully operational since 1944, when the Great Atlantic Hurricane swept through the seaside resort, causing flooding that ruined mechanical equipment.

The money will help refurbish the Midmer-Losh — which is currently played during Miss America, on building tours and at other hall events — and a smaller W.W. Kimball organ in an adjacent ballroom.

Organs used to be essential equipment for large theaters and municipal auditoriums, providing soundtracks for stage shows and movies in a world before amplifiers.

Ball described organists as one-man orchestras, creating music from a range of sounds — trumpets, strings, piano — in the same way an artist mixes paint on a palette.

The sound palette built at Boardwalk Hall remains unparalleled because of its stellar cohort of designers, he said.

[...] restoration funds have included private donations, as well as federal and state grants.