Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara
Another Wonder Morton Has Found a Home
From the September/October 1988 issue of the ATOS journal, Theatre Organ
By John Oien
 The Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara, California, has been restored to prime condition, and the installation of a Wonder Morton was the final step in its renaissance. The dedication of the organ by Tom Hazleton in October 1988 marked the completion of a two-year restoration project. The work was accomplished by members of the Santa Barbara ATOS Chapter under the direction of Stephen Leslie of the Newton Pipe Organ Company of San Jose and with the support of citi-zens and businesses in Santa Barbara. The Arlington Theatre was built to provide for such an organ and has three chambers on both sides of the auditorium. In 1931 when the theatre bore the name of Fox Arlington, it had a small two-manual pipe organ that was removed in the 50s. In 1976 when restoration of the theatre began, a search was launched for a suitable replace-ment. It took ten years to locate an instrument that would do justice to the theatre and to Santa Barbara. The organ was built in 1928 by the Robert -Morton Pipe Organ Company of Van Nuys, California. It was one of five Wonder Mortons installed in Loew's movie palaces on the East Coast. This instrument came from the Loew's Jersey City Theatre.
The organt was removed from the Loew's Theatre in 1978 and given to the North Texas chapter of the ATOS. It remained in a ware-house for lack of a suitable venue in which to install it. The North Texas ATOS chapter donated the organ to the Santa Barbara Chapter so that it might once again be seen and heard in an appropriate setting.
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