Fred Hermes’ “Basement Bijou” 5/34 Wurlitzer 

This article was written while Fred was still alive, and we decided to keep the post to honor Fred’s memory and that of this magnificent organ.

In Memory: A New Chapter for the Basement Bijou

In the spring of 2026, the American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS) acquired the rights to this instrument and removed it from Fred’s home. The organ is now safely stored and is awaiting a rebuild and a new location.

If you would like to help with this cause, you can donate to the ATOS fund for this wonderful organ. Donations are tax-deductible.

The Fred Hermes Basement Bijou 5/34 Wurlitzer

Here is the story of how Fred saved an organ and created his own theatre in his basement. Fred, the Wurlitzer, and the theatre we loved will be missed. We are grateful that Fred saved the organ, and we hope it can be heard again sooner rather than later.

A Week to Save an Organ

The saga of the Hermes residence 5/34 Wurlitzer began in February 1956, when a young insurance agent from Racine, Wisconsin, named Fred Hermes (then 29 years old) bought Detroit’s Michigan Theatre organ for $1,000. The “catch” was that it had to be removed from the theatre within one week.

The console had been encased in a concrete-block room with a small opening, so Fred, along with three helpers, had to dismantle it and remove it piece by piece. The four men worked 18-hour days, and within the week, the entire organ was out of the theatre. It filled two large moving vans, and, as usual, the last item left to load was the blower. With space at a premium, the blower made the trip back to Racine on the unfolded lift gate of one of the trucks! The Michigan Theatre was later converted into a parking garage with plaster and parts of the proscenium arch still visible to drivers today.

One of Wurlitzer’s Grandest Instruments

The original 28-rank organ was the largest of three five-manual instruments built by the Wurlitzer firm. The other two such instruments were installed in Chicago mere blocks apart at the Paradise and Marboro Theatres, and were each 21 ranks. The “Basement Bijou”, as it has become known, is the lower level of the Hermes home. It is equipped as a 1920’s movie palace would have been, complete with seats, chandeliers, plasterwork, projectors, and other artifacts from closed theatres around the Midwest.

There is even a Brenograph available to show slides and create spellbinding lighting effects on the screen! Six rooms were built to house the organ – four as pipe chambers (just as it was originally) and two as equipment rooms to house the massive relay, blower, and the organ’s tremulants. To this day, it is still playing on its original electro-pneumatic relay, with the original wiring to the chambers and chests, and the original cable to the console.

Bringing the Console Back to Life

The main seating room of the theatre measures 30 x 60 feet and is 17 ½ feet high. The home’s living area is at ground level, above the theatre. It took four years to recondition and reassemble the organ in its new home, and after it was installed, Fred dug a pit (by hand) under the console. He installed an original Peter Clark lift so the massive Wurlitzer console could again rise to the sounds of an opening overture, just as it once did in the Michigan Theatre.

Videos About Fred’s Organ and His Theatre

Organ Specifications

Here is how Fred laid out the organ.