William H Bauer Foundation for the Preservation of the Pilcher Organ

The World's Largest Pilcher Pipe Organ resides inside the walls of Louisville War Memorial Auditorium. Over 5 stories tall and with 5288 pipes plus percussion instruments, it is the Magnum Opus of the Louisville-Based Henry Pilcher's Sons Pipe Organ Factory. The organ was dedicated Memorial Day in 1929 along with the auditorium. Since then it has virtually been forgotten and neglected. In 1954, drastic renovations were made to the auditorium to improve acoustics. There was no consideration as to how this would affect the organ's mighty sound. Parts of the organ were walled-up which hindered the organ's sound into the auditorium and made some parts completely unusable. Until the early 1970's it was rarely used and falling into serious disrepair. It was then two sixteen year old organists began the monumental task of saving the organ with weekly work sessions on Fridays after school. Flash forward to 1993 when the Organ Historical Society had their national convention in Louisville. The organ was spit, bailing wire and duct taped together to be featured at the convention. The organ's re-emergence was a huge success and it was suggested we do anything we could to save and restore the organ. In 1994 the William H. Bauer Foundation was formed specifically for that purpose and has been raising funds ever since. While being far from completely restored, it has been made 100% functional for use in concerts and silent film presentations. But for how long these temporary fixes will continue to work, no one knows. We ask for your help in preserving this unique musical treasure for generations to come. The YouTube documentary was filmed and edited by Giovanni Rupert as part of his course work at Western Kentucky University. It explores other such Pilcher pipe organs in the area as well as the auditorium. It is with gratitude to Giovanni that we present it here.