On January 3, 1929, the Grande Page Theatre Pipe Organ, containing three manuals and seven ranks of pipes, was delivered from Lima, Ohio. Organs such as this were often used to accompany silent films; however, during this time “talkies” were the big thing. Therefore, the organ was primarily played at intermissions and sing-alongs.

The echoes of the pipes chiming can be heard behind the side walls of the Spanish villa. The Page was once installed on a hydraulic system that allowed the organ to rise from within the front of the stage. This system no longer works. This is one of many projects the Paramount Theatre and the Paramount Heritage Foundation is working hard to complete.

The Paramount Grande Page has been restored three times. The first renovation was in 1964 after water damage to the solo chamber. Four dedicated Anderson residents banded together to put the organ back in playing condition, funding the restoration mostly out of their own pockets. The organ again fell silent in late 1972 when it stopped being used due to a change in theater ownership. During this time, the Page again suffered damage from dripping water due to a roof leak. In 1974, a new and sympathetic theater owner and a group of residents (two from the original group) formed the Paramount Organ Society. This not-for-profit group raised the funds to again restore the Page to playing condition until the early 1980’s. Occasional public concerts were also presented during this period. The Page was in use until the mid 1980’s when the theater changed hands and soon after was closed after declaring bankruptcy. The Page organ again suffered severe water damage. Coupled with the lack of heat in the building and cold weather, deterioration took its toll and the organ fell silent once again.

In 1989, a group of concerned community and business leaders formed the Paramount Heritage Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit 501 (c)3 organization to save the Paramount building from the wrecking ball. The Paramount Organ Society dissolved and turned their assets over to the Paramount Heritage Foundation, including several LP recordings of the organ produced by the organ group.

At this time the Grande Page was totally unplayable. While the console, which was covered in the orchestra pit, was not damaged, the organ chambers were. Several years of moisture and mold damaged the organ’s electro-pneumatic relay system and it had completely destroyed the leather inside the wind chests and on the regulators.

The restoration of the Page cost approximately $95,000. Restoration took from December 1995 to June 1997 to complete. Carlton Smith Pipe Organ Restorations rebuilt the organ using mostly all original Page components to enlarge the Page to better suit today’s theater organ standards. This was accomplished mainly by acquiring parts from another page organ that was removed from the Palace Theater in Marion, The organ arrives after restorationOhio in the 1960’s and installed in a home in Michigan. The owner, who was not using the organ, agreed to sell it to facilitate the restoration and the enlargement of the Paramount’s organ. The Page has been enlarged from seven to twelve ranks, representing 966 pipes and is one of only three Page organs remaining in its original theater installation in the United States.

The Page’s console has three manuals (keyboards) and 167 stop tablets to control the 12 ranks of pipes as well as real percussion such as a xylophone, glockenspiel, chrysoglott vibraphone and chimes. The organ has also been updated for the use of MIDI generated sounds. The marimba is the only MIDI sound used in the organ at present.

The original electro-pneumatic relay that was totally destroyed by a leaking roof was replaced with a new computerized switching system to the organ. This system has the capability of digitally recording an organist’s performance and playing this performance back without the organist present, which is useful for weekly tours of the theater.

In 1989, the writers for the National Register of Historic Places wrote:
Because the Grande Page Organ and the Paramount Theatre were made to operate as a single unit and the acoustics and the location of the console affect the way the audience hears the music, it is important that both the restoration of the building and the restoration of the Grand Page Organ be undertaken in concert, respecting both the aging building and the aging organ.