Crome Organ Co.
1961before

Identified through online information from Frank Sele. -- A relocated pipe organ, originally built by M.P. Möller in 1930, identified by Frank Sele.
For high school I attended Don Bosco Technical Institute in Rosemead, CA from 1961 to 1965. A new multipurpose auditorium/basketball court had recently been built which included Moller Opus 5670. It was installed hanging from the ceiling over a choir loft on the north end of the building. I was told that the Los Angeles Archdiocese was offered the organ due to the Badham residence being about to be demolished for a freeway. The organ was installed by the Crome organ company. Due to severe space restrictions in the hanging organ chamber the regulators were installed above the pipework. The organ bench was a beautiful piece of furniture with geometric molding designs on it yet the sides of the console were inexplicably (at the time) plain. Many years later I came across an old Architectural Digest magazine which pictured the Badham residence showing the location of the console in an alcove which explained the plain sides. A caption on a photo of the garden said that the organ also spoke outside; the junction board in the console had terminals labeled "Lawn Shades". As installed at Bosco Tech there was only room for 12 ranks. As I remember, the Great had a Diapason, Harmonic Flute, Dulciana, 2 2/3 Flute, Clarinet and Tuba; the Swell had a Principal, Flute, Salicional, Voix Celeste and Oboe; the Bourdon/Lieblich Gedect and the Chimes were located between the Great and Swell chests. Some of the stop tabs had been turned over and re-engraved; Vox Humana, Vox Angelica and Harp were no longer in the organ. During my student years I sang there in a very good choir often accompanied by the organ. I later taught at the school for a number of years and it was always fun to play the organ. The auditorium has tilt-up concrete walls ( I understand they were the largest ever attempted at the time) and the place was acoustically very live. In the mid nineties I visited the school and found the organ not there. It had been thrown away to make room for a faculty dining area.