In 1925, the Marr and Colton Company installed a 3/20 instrument in what became the Keeney Theatre. The organ was used daily to accompany silent films until the advent of talkies in 1929. After that time, the organ was used only on rare occasions and was not kept in repair - the last record of its having been played was in 1941.

The flood of 1946 floated the console out of the pit, and when it came back to rest on the elevator platform, it was upside down. It wasn't until 1961 that a group of local organ enthusiasts including Lauren Peckham, Bob Oppenheim and David Teeter took on the monumental work of restoring the organ. So much of it had been demolished that another 3/15 Marr and Colton organ was purchased from the Palace Theater in Jamestown, NY, and moved to Elmira. By 1963, the organ was in playable condition.

Then came the infamous flood of 1972, which completely ruined the organ console and the blowers in the basement, as well as the elevator lift motors, gears and other parts. Not until 1976 was a concerted effort undertaken to save the theater (including the organ) for use as a community performing arts center. That effort established the Clemens Center.

In March of 1977, Lauren, Joyce, David and Kent Peckham and David Teeter took on the restoration of the organ. In April of that year, the Clemens Center purchased a four-manual Wurlitzer Theater Organ from our Lady of Victory Basilica in Lackawanna, NY. The organ was played in October 1977 by David Peckham at the official grand opening of the Center, which starred Ella Fitzgerald. To this day, L.A. Peckham & Son continues to care for our instrument and many others throughout the region.

As part of the Clemens Center's current renovation of the Powers Theater audience chamber, the organ will be reinstalled in December 2008. This fine instrument is one of the few remaining in the country - we are fortunate to have it available for everyone's enjoyment!