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109-573: The theater was renowned as the second movie theatre on the east coast of Florida to be air conditioned and having the largest Wurlitzer organ in the United States. It was used for a variety of shows until closing in 2006. It has not been used since. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. In the 1950s George Engle, an oilman, bought it and spent over $ 1 million (equivalent to $ 47 million in 2017) in renovations having

218-510: A carbonate plateau created millions of years ago. Eastern Dade is composed of Oolite limestone while western Dade is composed mostly of Bryozoa . Miami-Dade is among the last areas of Florida to be created and populated with fauna and flora, mostly in the Pleistocene . The bay is divided from the Atlantic Ocean by many barrier islands along the coast. The city of Miami Beach , home to

327-599: A "Sheriff's Office". Instead, the county's law enforcement agency is known as the Miami-Dade Police Department, and its leader is known as the Metropolitan Sheriff and Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department; Nonetheless, Miami-Dade Police badges bear the inscription, "Deputy Sheriff, Sheriff's Office, Dade County, Fla." Miami-Dade County has voted for the Democratic Party candidate in most of

436-580: A German company and closed the North Tonawanda factory. The former Wurlitzer complex today hosts a business park, contractors' supply store, storage, offices, restaurants and a Platter's Chocolate factory. Piano and organ manufacturing continued in Mississippi and Arkansas factories for several years. The Baldwin Piano Company purchased Wurlitzer's piano-making assets and brand in 1988. Subsequently,

545-501: A Summer Theater Camp for teens, and Theater Stages, which teaches acting techniques, playwriting, costume and scenery design, and improvisation to children, teens, and adult performers. On November 22, 1996, Late Show with David Letterman originated from the theater. It was the last episode of the show not to originate from New York. The Coconut Grove Playhouse closed in 2006. The theatre remains closed to this date. In January 2014, however, Miami-Dade County received permission from

654-474: A female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% (2.5% male and 5.9% female) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.33. The age distribution is 21.9% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

763-636: A full line of upright and grand pianos. In 1914, Wurlitzer became the sole distributor of Melville Clark Pianos and in 1919 acquired the Melville Clark company. Wurlitzer continued to manufacture pianos at the Clark factory in DeKalb, Illinois under the Melville Clark name. Other brands which have been manufactured by Wurlitzer are Apollo, De Kalb, Julius Bauer, Farney, Kingston, Kurtzman, Merrium, Schaff Bros. and Underwood. Wurlitzer excelled in piano design. It developed

872-571: A high-end console radio, which retailed for as much as $ 425 in 1929 (approximately $ 5,800 in 2014 dollars). In addition to business acquisitions, Wurlitzer entered into several joint ventures with James Armitage, George Herschell , and other businessmen from the area. He constructed a separate plant at Goundry and Oliver Streets in downtown North Tonawanda specializing in short production runs to manufacture organs and hurdy-gurdies for amusement parks, circuses, roller rinks and carnival midways. Amusement rides, particularly carousels , were assembled at

981-722: A jukebox. The company produced various models of nickelodeons, such as the early Wurlitzer Mandolin Quartette – Wurlitzer's alternative to the Regina Sublima Piano. This machine has a reiterating piano with mandolin attachment along with an accompanying piano. They later introduced the Wurlitzer A.P.P. roll; a universal roll to be used on all subsequent Wurlitzer nickelodeons. Models such as the B(X), C(X), D(X) and I(X) use this roll. Wurlitzer also produced an automatic roll changer system so when

1090-403: A large portion of the venue and commercialize it. $ 20 million in voter-approved bond money has been set aside to fund this project. The building is deemed a historical landmark so it cannot be fully demolished, but many residents are concerned that much of the building will not be preserved. Preservation architect Richard Heisenbottle sketched a plan for the restoration of the venue that could fit

1199-607: A large theatre and the presence of two large theatres nearby, the Miracle Theatre and the venues at the Adrienne Arsht Center. Many people support the plan though, hoping that with Kevin Spacey's backing that the theatre could bring in big stars and become a prominent regional theatre once again. After a long bidding process between nine architecture firms, Miami-Dade county commissioners voted for Arquitectonica to help demolish

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1308-483: A line of symmetrical grand pianos, or "Butterfly" grands. At this point in Wurlitzer history, all piano manufacturing was exclusively in DeKalb, Illinois. Models ranged from the Student Butterfly having 44 keys, to the 88 key Deluxe Art Deco Streamline Model 1411. Model 1411 had many innovative patented features. A quartet of raised banding around the body were actually functional sound port slots that radiate all

1417-554: A mellower sound). Some orchestrions made by the company can be found at Clark's Trading Post , Lincoln, New Hampshire , the Music Hall, Nevada City, Montana , and the Jasper Sanfilippo Collection at Victorian Palace , Barrington Hills, Illinois . Wurlitzer, starting around 1900 until circa 1935 produced nickelodeon pianos, or coin pianos, which are electrically operated player pianos that take coins to operate, like

1526-584: A nostalgic 1971 model called the "1050". The model did not sell well and only 1,600 units were produced. The jukebox line was sold to a German company in 1973. Already in 1960, Wurlitzer founded a wholly owned subsidiary in Hullhorst, Germany, the DEUTSCHE WURLITZER GMBH, which was building electronic organs, vending machines, mostly cigarette vendors, and jukeboxes for the European market. Deutsche Wurlitzer

1635-560: A revival of Death of a Salesman , starring Hal Holbrook and Elizabeth Franz , prior to a national tour. The theatre now has two stages, the 1700-seat proscenium Mainstage Theater and the intimate 100-seat Encore Room Theater. The Playhouse provided a broad range of programs for all ages, including the In-School Touring Program, which presented plays aimed at students in grades six through twelve, Lizard Lessons, original plays with music for kindergarten through third grade,

1744-527: A roll finished rewinding another was put on in a carousel-like system. An 'X' at the end of a model number indicates that model was fitted with a roll changer. Records indicate Wurlitzer sold player piano mechanisms to other manufacturers who installed Wurlitzer components in their own pianos and sold them under other brand names. One example is the Milner player piano company. Milner pianos were built in Cincinnati at

1853-601: A statesman and diplomat from South Carolina who drafted the Treaty of San Lorenzo . The county's credited father, Richard Fitzpatrick, preferred this name as he was from South Carolina himself; however, when news reached Tallahassee of the Dade Massacre , the Territorial Legislative Council inserted Dade's name instead into a pending bill to create the new county. At the time of its creation, Dade County included

1962-529: A time consistent with Wurlitzer's presence there. Company records suggest Wurlitzer acquired the Milner company in addition to the several other companies acquired by Wurlitzer over the years, but it is possible that Milner may have simply used Wurlitzer components in their own product. Perhaps the most famous instruments Wurlitzer built were its pipe organs (from 1914 until 1943), which were installed in theatres, homes, churches, and other venues. These were marketed as The Mighty Wurlitzers . Robert Hope-Jones

2071-550: Is actually a concert instrument, capable of playing a classical as well as non-classical repertoire. It, along with the organ at the Paramount Theatre in Denver Colorado are the only Wurlitzer installations still in use that have dual consoles . While Denver's is the typical "master-slave" system, Radio City is the only surviving original Wurlitzer installation to have two identical and completely independent consoles playing

2180-631: Is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments from Germany for resale in the United States. Wurlitzer enjoyed initial success, largely due to defense contracts to provide musical instruments to the U.S. military. In 1880, the company began manufacturing pianos and eventually relocated to North Tonawanda, New York . It quickly expanded to make band organs , orchestrions , player pianos and pipe or theatre organs popular in theatres during

2289-603: Is an estimated 23,064 Muslims with 15 congregations, 3,069 Hindus with 7 congregations, and 1,342 Buddhist with 17 congregations. In 2005 the Jewish population of the county has decreased but stabilized at about 121,000 with a high percentage of retired and elderly persons (but less than in Broward and Palm Beach counties). There are more than 60 congregations, 34 Jewish educational institutions, and three Jewish community centers. The highest percentage and increase in Jewish population

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2398-520: Is considered the inventor of the theatre organ . Between 1887 and 1911 his company employed 112 workers at its peak, producing 246 organs. But shortly after merging his organ business with Wurlitzer, he committed suicide in 1914 in Rochester, New York, frustrated by his new association with the Wurlitzer company, it is said. Moving the business to their North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory , from 1914 to 1942, Wurlitzer built over 2,243 pipe organs: 30 times

2507-583: Is elected countywide to serve a four-year term and is considered a "strong mayor". The mayor is not a member of the County Commission, appoints all 25 directors who oversee the operations of the County Departments and has veto power over the Commission. A mayoral appointment and veto can only be overridden by a two-thirds majority of the County Commission. The post is occupied by Daniella Levine Cava ,

2616-466: Is heavily Hispanic and was the most populous majority-Hispanic county in the nation as of 2020. It is home to 34 incorporated cities and many unincorporated areas . The northern, central and eastern portions of the county are heavily urbanized with many high-rise buildings along the coastline, including Miami's Central Business District in Downtown Miami . Southern Miami-Dade County includes

2725-508: Is home to several universities and colleges, including Florida International University , one of the largest public universities in the country, and the University of Miami in Coral Gables , a private research university that is routinely ranked as one of the nation's top universities and is the county's second-largest employer with nearly 17,000 employees as of 2021. Miami-Dade County

2834-511: Is in North Dade, especially in Aventura. Miami-Dade County hosts Florida's third largest Jewish population and the nation's tenth largest. Altogether, 39.8% of the population was claimed as members by religious congregations, although members of historically African-American denominations were underrepresented due to incomplete information. In 2014, Miami-Dade County had 731 religious organizations,

2943-583: Is land and 533 square miles (1,380 km ) (21.9%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Florida by land area and second-largest by total area. Most of the water is in the Biscayne Bay , with another significant portion in the adjacent Atlantic Ocean . Miami-Dade County is only about 6 feet (1.8 m) above sea level . It is rather new geologically and is at the eastern edge of the Florida Platform ,

3052-685: Is now known as the American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS). A similar society formed in the UK in 1952 known as the Cinema Organ Society . The Wurlitzer was the iconic jukebox of the Big Band era, to the extent that Wurlitzer came in some places to be a generic name for any jukebox. (In Hungarian , "wurlitzer" still means "jukebox", for example – despite Hungarian only using the letter W for words of foreign origin). Wurlitzer's success

3161-593: Is populated only by a Miccosukee tribal village. Biscayne National Park and the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves are located east of the mainland in Biscayne Bay . The earliest evidence of Native American settlement in the Miami region is from approximately 12,000 years ago. The first inhabitants settled on the banks of the Miami River , with the main villages on the northern banks. The inhabitants at

3270-561: Is said below Gibson Guitar Corporation bought Deutsche Wurlitzer by acquiring Baldwin Piano Company, who bought the US Wurlitzer company before. The Australian owned German company continued to manufacture vending machines and jukeboxes and was acquired by Gibson Guitar around 2008. Reason was, that the major shareholder of the Gibson Group would not like the German company to have the right to use

3379-447: Is the "upper tier", and it provides services of a metropolitan nature, such as emergency management, airport and seaport operations, public housing and health care services, transportation, environmental services, solid waste disposal etc. These are funded by county taxes, which are assessed on all incorporated and unincorporated areas. Of the county's 2.6 million total residents (as of 2013), approximately 52% live in unincorporated areas,

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3488-794: The Baldwin Piano Company in 1988, and most piano manufacturing moved overseas. The Baldwin Co., including its Wurlitzer assets, was acquired by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in about 1996. Ten years later, Gibson acquired Deutsche Wurlitzer and the Wurlitzer Jukebox and Vending Electronics trademarks, briefly reuniting Wurlitzer's best-known products under a single corporate banner in 2006. Baldwin ceased making Wurlitzer-brand pianos in 2009. Vending machines are still manufactured in Germany using

3597-766: The Gibson Guitar Corporation acquired Baldwin and operated it as a wholly owned subsidiary. Meanwhile, Gibson acquired Deutsche Wurlitzer Jukebox and Electronics Vending brand in 2006, briefly bringing the primary Wurlitzer product lines back under one owner. However, Baldwin stopped using the Wurlitzer name on pianos by the end of 2009. Gibson now uses the Wurlitzer brand name exclusively for jukeboxes and vending machines. Wurlitzer continues to manufacture jukeboxes and vending machines at its factory in Hullhorst, Germany. Wurlitzer headquarters are located in Hullhorst, and it has distribution and sales offices in Gurnee, Illinois and Oxfordshire, England. Beginning in about 1880, Wurlitzer built

3706-543: The Redland and Homestead areas, which make up the agricultural economy of the county. Agricultural Redland makes up roughly one third of Miami-Dade County's inhabited land area, and is sparsely populated, a stark contrast to the densely populated, urban portions of the county's northern sections. The county includes portions of two national parks. To the west, the county extends into the Everglades National Park and

3815-708: The South Beach neighborhood and its Art Deco district, is built on these barrier islands. The archipelago of the Florida Keys , which extends in an arc to the south-southwest, is only accessible through Miami-Dade County, although most of the Keys are part of neighboring Monroe County . Miami is 68 miles from West Palm Beach , and 30 miles from Fort Lauderdale . Miami-Dade County includes 34 incorporated areas, 38 census-designated places , and 16 unincorporated regions. U.S. Census Bureau 2010 ethnic/race demographics: In 2010,

3924-648: The United States Government imposed high import tariffs on street and fairground organ importation in 1892, Wurlitzer began producing mechanical organs. Most were small barrel organs , playing from a pinned barrel and powered by either steam or cranked by hand. Many of these organs have cases finished in dark (and sometimes black) wood, with gold incised designs, not unlike those of the European manufacturers of barrel organs. As parts were not subject to import tariffs, almost all Wurlitzer band organs are copied from designs by European manufacturers. For example,

4033-725: The poverty line , including 22.0% of those under age 18 and 22.1% of those aged 65 or over. In 2010, 51.1% of the county's population was foreign born , with 48.7% being naturalized American citizens . Of foreign-born residents, 93.0% were born in Latin America, 3.2% were born in Europe, 2.7% born in Asia, 0.5% born in Africa, 0.5% in North America, and 0.1% were born in Oceania. As of 2010, 28.1% of

4142-413: The "Pentagonal Soundboard", "Tone crafted hammers", and other unique innovations to help its pianos produce a richer, fuller tone. In 1935, it was one of the first manufacturers to offer the spinet piano to the mass market. This 39-inch high piano was an instant sensation. The spinet came at an opportune time, when many Americans could not afford a full upright or grand. In the mid 1930s, Wurlitzer unveiled

4251-420: The 14th most out of all US counties. Miami-Dade County has operated under a metropolitan system of government, a "two-tier federation ", since 1957. This was made possible when Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1956 that allowed the people of Dade County (as it was known) to enact a home rule charter . Prior to this year, home rule did not exist in Florida, and all counties were limited to

4360-542: The 1901 Pan-American Exposition , Wurlitzer invested in his company. Wurlitzer bought de Kleist's interest in the business in 1909 and assumed operation of the North Tonawanda factory. The new company invested in new technology, resulting in the adoption of electric motors, and the music source was changed from pinned barrels to perforated paper rolls similar to a player piano roll. In addition to manufacturing band organs, Wurlitzer also converted band organs made by other companies to their roll scales. This generally resulted in

4469-566: The 1960s, Wurlitzer ventured into new instrument markets. In 1964, Wurlitzer bought the rights, registered trademarks, copyrights, patents, engineering records and factory of the Henry C. Martin Band Instrument Company , which manufactured brass wind instruments in Elkhart, Indiana (not to be confused with the C.F. Martin & Company guitar maker). In 1967, Wurlitzer entered the guitar market as

Coconut Grove Playhouse - Misplaced Pages Continue

4578-482: The 24th and 25th districts. Brightstar Corporation , Burger King , Intradeco Holdings, Latin Flavors , Norwegian Cruise Line , Lennar and Ryder have their headquarters in unincorporated areas in the county. Centurion Air Cargo , Florida West International Airways , IBC Airways , and World Atlantic Airlines have their headquarters on the grounds of Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area in

4687-470: The Arsht Center. This proposal was not passed, however it is still being considered as an option. A county chairman encouraged Eidson to "postpone" his plans, suggesting that the idea is not completely out of sight. The 700-seat theatre option has received mixed reviews. Ann Anthony, executive director of Miami's Mad Cat Theatre Company, is one of the plan's many opponents. She cited the difficulty of filling

4796-737: The Holman-Woodell Company of Neodesha, Kansas. The guitar labels reflected Wurlitzer's Elkhart, Indiana, location, but with the exception of a handful of prototypes made above Holman's music store in Independence, Kansas, the guitars themselves were built in a small two-story building on Main Street in Neodesha. Three models were available: the Cougar, Wildcat and Gemini, all of which were functionally similar but featured different body shapes. The majority of

4905-453: The Holman-Woodell Company, possibly due to problems with the finish on Holman-Woodell guitars which resulted in many instruments being returned to the factory. Beginning in 1967, Wurlitzer-branded guitars were manufactured by Welson in Italy, and the Wurlitzer line expanded to include semi-hollow body electric as well as acoustic guitars. Wurlitzer continued to distribute Welson-made guitars under

5014-583: The Kansas-made instruments were six-string guitars, with only a handful of basses being manufactured. Distinguishing features of the first Wurlitzer branded guitars are the W-shaped cut-out in the tremolo mounting plate and the Rock/Jazz selection rocker switch above each pick-up. Another feature of the earliest Wurlitzer electrics was that they were wired for stereo output. In 1967, Wurlitzer ceased its affiliation with

5123-750: The Miami River. At about the same time, the Seminole Indians arrived, along with a group of runaway slaves. The area was affected by the Second Seminole War , during which Major William S. Harney led several raids against the Indians. Most non-Indian residents were soldiers stationed at Fort Dallas . It was the most devastating Indian war in American history, causing almost a total loss of population in Miami. After

5232-519: The Republican Party, resulting in the best Republican performance since 2004 . In the 2022 gubernatorial and U.S. Senate elections, Republicans Ron DeSantis and Marco Rubio respectively won the county. DeSantis became the first Republican Governor to win Miami-Dade since Jeb Bush in 2002 . Rubio won the county for the second time, following his victory in 2010 . In 2024 , Donald Trump won

5341-462: The Second Seminole War ended in 1842, William English re-established a plantation started by his uncle on the Miami River. He charted the "Village of Miami" on the south bank of the Miami River and sold several plots of land. In 1844, Miami became the county seat, and six years later a census reported there were ninety-six residents in the area. The Third Seminole War was not as destructive as

5450-648: The State of Florida to take over the building. At the time of the Miami-Dade County takeover, there were several ideas for the use of the space. The current plan is for a 300-seat theatre at the venue to be operated by GableStage, a renowned South Florida theatre company currently operating in a 150-seat theatre at the historic Biltmore Hotel. However, the founder and director of Gables Stage, Joseph Adler , died. Regardless, Miami-Dade still wants GableStage to work in association with Florida International University and their theatre department, working with them to provide students there with professional, real world experience. At

5559-470: The Tequesta sent a couple of local chiefs to Havana , Cuba, to ask if they could migrate there. The Cubans sent two ships to help them, but Spanish illnesses struck and most of the Tequesta died. The first permanent European settlers arrived in the early 19th century. People came from the Bahamas to South Florida and the Keys to hunt for treasure from the ships that ran aground on the treacherous Great Florida Reef . Some accepted Spanish land offers along

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5668-446: The United States . It is Florida's third largest county in terms of land area with 1,946 square miles (5,040 km ). The county seat is Miami , the core of the nation's ninth-largest and world's 65th-largest metropolitan area with a 2020 population of 6.138 million people, exceeding the population of 31 of the nation's 50 states as of 2022. As of 2022, Miami-Dade County has a gross domestic product of $ 184.5 billion, making

5777-414: The United States was Hurricane Andrew , which hit Miami in the early morning of Monday, August 24, 1992. It struck the southern part of the county from due east, south of Miami and very near Homestead , Kendall , and Cutler Ridge , which was later renamed Cutler Bay . Damages exceeded US$ 25 billion in the county, and recovery took years in these areas where the destruction was greatest. Hurricane Andrew

5886-489: The WURLITZER name and logo. in 2013, Deutsche Wurlitzer went out of business and the remaining part was sold to German investors. An attempt to continue with products and a new name was not successful. Jukeboxes bearing the Wurlitzer name were in production until the company ceased manufacturing in 2013. The Gibson Guitar Corporation acquired the German jukebox and vending machine manufacturer that made them in 2006. The more recent models are able to play CDs. From 1955 to 1982,

5995-411: The Way Home by Tad Mosel ; and Slow Dance on the Killing Ground by William Hanley . Slow Dance was a hurried replacement which had to be put in place within ten days of rehearsal, replacing Hogan's Goat . In 1982, actor-director José Ferrer was named artistic director, and under his supervision the Playhouse gained a reputation as one of the nation's leading theatres. In 1985, Arnold Mittelman

6104-429: The Wurlitzer family in Germany for resale in the United States. Wurlitzer was an early American defense contractor, being a major supplier of musical instruments to the U.S. military during the American Civil War and Spanish–American War. In 1880, Wurlitzer started manufacturing its own pianos, which the company sold through its retail outlets in Chicago. In 1896, Wurlitzer manufactured its first coin-operated pianos. In

6213-403: The Wurlitzer name under Gibson ownership. The company ceased manufacturing jukeboxes in 2013, but still sells replacement parts. Franz Rudolph Wurlitzer (1831–1914), an immigrant from Schöneck, Saxony , founded the Wurlitzer Company in Cincinnati in 1853. His sons Howard, Rudolph and Farny successively directed the company after his death. The company initially imported musical instruments from

6322-419: The Wurlitzer name until 1969 when Wurlitzer stopped selling guitars under its own name. Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County ( / m aɪ ˈ æ m i ˈ d eɪ d / ) is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida . The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census , making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in

6431-527: The advent of smaller 45 rpm records, Wurlitzer was beat to the punch by Seeburg mechanisms which could play both sides of 50 different records, yielding 100 song choices. Although Wurlitzer ceded the crown of industry leader to rival Seeburg in the 1950s, Fuller's designs are so emblematic of jukeboxes in general that 1940s era Wurlitzers are often used to invoke the Rock n' Roll period in films and television. Wurlitzer struggled on for 20 years or so and made one final effort to keep its jukebox business viable with

6540-613: The architect Alfred Browning Parker convert it to a live theatre. It reopened on January 3, 1956, with the US premiere of Samuel Beckett ’s Waiting for Godot , starring Bert Lahr and Tom Ewell . In the fifty years that have followed, the Playhouse has played host to many of theater's most renowned performers, including Maureen Stapleton , Hume Cronyn , Jessica Tandy , Eve Arden , Tallulah Bankhead , Carol Channing , Liza Minnelli , Linda Lavin , Bea Arthur , George C. Scott , Colleen Dewhurst , Ethel Merman , and Raúl Esparza . Between 1964 and 1965, The Coconut Grove Playhouse

6649-423: The area in front of the factory, creating a park and parkway setting off of Niagara Falls Boulevard. Some tree and lamp post installations, laid diagonal, remain to mark these roads. The growing company held its first annual Convention of associated businesses in Buffalo, New York at the Statler Hotel in September of 1937, complete with a three day program of events and a parade. The surviving complex, particularly

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6758-416: The central front tower building and main entrance hall, is now a National Historic Landmark. Wurlitzer abandoned production of nickelodeons but continued to manufacture the music rolls for player piano music through a wholly owned subsidiary called the Endless Roll Music Company. Wurlitzer also assumed production of Lyric brand radios from the All American Mohawk Radio Company in Chicago. Lyric radios were

6867-409: The company also produced the Wurlitzer electric piano series, an electrically amplified piano variant. In 1966, music store owner Howard Holman used his contacts at the Martin Band Instrument Company, owned by Wurlitzer at that time, to convince Wurlitzer to distribute a line of electric guitars manufactured by Holman's start-up company in Kansas. Wurlitzer became the sole distributor of guitars made by

6976-442: The converted organ having an expanded musical library due to the vast amount of available Wurlitzer music rolls. However, these conversions sometimes required modifications to the organ's pipes and could permanently change the sound of the converted organ. The production of Wurlitzer organs ceased in 1939, the last organ to leave the factory being a style 165 organ in a 157 case (done because Wurlitzer had an extra 157 case remaining in

7085-495: The county by a comfortable margin due to its heavy shift to the right, Florida being his home state, and its large Cuban population, making him the first Republican since George H. W. Bush in 1988 to carry the county. Miami-Dade County is represented in the United States House of Representatives by Republicans Maria Elvira Salazar , Carlos Gimenez and Mario Diaz-Balart of the 27th, 28th and 26th districts, and Democrats Frederica Wilson and Debbie Wasserman Schultz of

7194-547: The county's GDP the largest for any county in the State of Florida and the 14th-largest for the nation's 3,033 counties. The county is home to the Port of Miami on Biscayne Bay , the world's largest passenger port with a world record 5.5 million passengers in 2018, and Miami International Airport , the third largest U.S. airport for international passengers and largest U.S. airport for international cargo. The county's land area of nearly 2,000 square miles exceeds that of two U.S. states, Delaware and Rhode Island . The county

7303-492: The county's first female mayor. The Board of County Commissioners is the legislative body, consisting of 13 members elected from single-member districts. Members are elected to serve four-year terms, and elections of members are staggered. The board chooses a chairperson, who presides over the commission, as well as appoints the members of its legislative committees. The board has a wide array of powers to enact legislation, create departments, and regulate businesses operating within

7412-638: The county. Hewlett Packard 's main Latin America offices are on the ninth floor of the Waterford Building in unincorporated Miami-Dade County. Other companies with offices in an unincorporated area not in any CDP: Several defunct airlines, including Airlift International , Arrow Air , National Airlines , and Rich International Airways , were headquartered on or near the airport property. After Frank Borman became president of Eastern Airlines in 1975, he moved Eastern's headquarters from Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan , New York City to an unincorporated area in Miami-Dade County Around 1991

7521-485: The county. It also has the power to override the mayor's veto with a two-thirds vote. Florida's Constitution provides for five elected officials to oversee executive and administrative functions for each county (called "Constitutional Officers"): Sheriff , Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections, Tax Collector, and Clerk of the Circuit Court (also functions as Comptroller). However, the Constitution allows voters in home-rule counties (including Miami-Dade) to abolish

7630-534: The days of silent movies. Wurlitzer also operated a chain of retail stores where the company's products were sold. As technology evolved, Wurlitzer began producing electric pianos , electronic organs and jukeboxes , and it eventually became known more for jukeboxes and vending machines, which are still made by Wurlitzer, rather than for actual musical instruments. Wurlitzer's jukebox operations were sold and moved to Germany in 1973. The Wurlitzer piano and organ brands and U.S. manufacturing facilities were acquired by

7739-407: The end of January 1925. This particular instrument (Britain's oldest Wurlitzer organ) is now located at the Congregational Church in Beer, Devon . Regular concerts and shows are hosted on the Beer Wurlitzer. The largest Wurlitzer organ originally built (in terms of pipes), was the four- manual / 58-rank (set of pipes) instrument at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The Music Hall instrument

7848-416: The entire operation, and he moved all Wurlitzer manufacturing from Ohio to New York. In 1909, the company began making innovative automatic harps that were more durable than European prototypes, and from 1924 to the 1930s, eight models were available. The "Mighty Wurlitzer"   theatre organ was introduced in late 1910 and became Wurlitzer's most famous product. Wurlitzer theatre organs are installed around

7957-720: The facility. Circa 1933, the Wurlitzer name gradually became more associated with jukeboxes than with musical instruments. In 1942, organ production at the North Tonawanda factory ceased and production was shifted to the manufacture of bomb proximity fuses for World War II . After the war, normal production efforts resumed but with more focus on radios, jukeboxes and small electronic organs for private homes. The Rivera Theatre , also in North Tonawanda, possesses one of these historic organs as well as Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, New York. Among Wurlitzer's electronic instruments, beginning with electrostatic reed organs in 1947,

8066-472: The factory and the owner didn't mind the change). During the Great Depression leading up to the end of production, various cost-cutting measures were made, such as the substitution of brass horn and trumpet pipes for ones made of wood (though arguably the change from brass to wood may have been due to the shrill sound produced by the brass pipes which some people may have found unpleasant; wood pipes produced

8175-587: The first recorded landing when they visited the Tequesta settlement in 1566 while looking for Avilés' missing son, shipwrecked a year earlier. Spanish soldiers led by Father Francisco Villarreal built a Jesuit mission at the mouth of the Miami River a year later but it was short-lived. After the Spaniards left, the Tequesta Indians were left to fend themselves from European-introduced diseases like smallpox . By 1711,

8284-454: The highest group of immigrants . Miami-Dade has small communities of Brazilians , Portuguese , Spaniards , Ukrainians and Poles along with Canadians (including Francophone from the province of Quebec ), French , Germans , other Europeans , British expatriates and Israelis . There were 867,352 households, out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% were married couples living together, 18.8% had

8393-549: The international name recognition of Miami . Voters were acting pursuant to home rule powers granted to Dade County, including the ability to change the name of the county without the consent of the Florida Legislature . With the name change, Miami-Dade County became the only county in the United States whose name was hyphenated. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has an area of 2,431 square miles (6,300 km ), of which 1,898 square miles (4,920 km )

8502-511: The land that now contains Palm Beach and Broward counties, together with the Florida Keys from Bahia Honda Key north and the land of present-day Miami-Dade County. The county seat was originally at Indian Key in the Florida Keys; then in 1844, the County seat was moved to Miami . The Florida Keys from Key Largo to Bahia Honda were returned to Monroe County in 1866. In 1888 the county seat

8611-498: The larger bones in a box for the village people to see. The Tequesta are credited with making the Miami Circle . Juan Ponce de León was the first European to visit the area in 1513 by sailing into Biscayne Bay . His journal records he reached Chequescha , a variant of Tequesta , which was Miami's first recorded name. It is unknown whether he came ashore or made contact with the natives. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and his men made

8720-403: The largest ancestry groups were: Residents of Miami-Dade County are often described as "Miamians." In 2010, Cubans made up the largest population of immigrants (with more than half of the population) with Colombians coming in second, Haitians in third, followed by Nicaraguans in fourth place, then Dominicans , Venezuelans , Peruvians , Jamaicans , Mexicans , and Argentinians among

8829-420: The late 1800s, fairs were popular. As crowds grew and mechanical rides began to appear, there was a need for louder music. The fairground organ was developed. Eugene de Kleist of North Tonawanda, New York, was an early builder of such organs (also called " barrel organs ") for use in carousels . Wurlitzer bought an interest in de Kleist's North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory in 1897. In 1909, Wurlitzer bought

8938-693: The majority of which are heavily suburbanized. These residents are part of the Unincorporated Municipal Services Area (UMSA). For these residents, the County fills the role of both lower- and upper-tier government, the County Commission acting as their lower-tier municipal representative body. Residents within UMSA pay a UMSA tax, equivalent to a city tax, which is used to provide County residents with equivalent city services (police, fire, zoning, water and sewer, etc.). Residents of incorporated areas do not pay UMSA tax. The Mayor of Miami-Dade County

9047-441: The most important have been the fully electronic organs , especially the two-manual-and-pedals spinet type (from 1971 with synthesizer features) for domestic use. In the mid-1950s, Wurlitzer began manufacturing portable electric pianos . Rembert Wurlitzer (1904–1963) independently directed the firm's violin department from 1949 until his death in 1963, building it into a leading international center for rare string instruments. In

9156-501: The offices and reorganize them as subordinate County departments; Miami-Dade voters chose this option for Sheriff, Supervisor of Elections, and Tax Collector. The offices of Clerk of the Circuit Court, State Attorney , and Public Defender are still branches of State government and are, therefore, independently elected and not part of County government. Miami-Dade is the only county in Florida that does not have an elected sheriff or

9265-464: The population spoke only English at home, while 63.8% of the population spoke Spanish , 4.2% spoke French Creole (mainly Haitian Creole ), 0.6% French , and 0.6% Portuguese . About 52% of the county residents were born outside the United States, while 71.9% of the population spoke a language other than English at home. In 2010 statistics, the largest religious group in Miami-Dade County

9374-476: The presidential elections in the past four decades, and had gone Democratic in every election since 1992, until 2024, when it voted for Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Kamala Harris. It did vote twice for Ronald Reagan (1980, 1984) and once for George H. W. Bush (1988). From 1904 to 1972 it supported the Democratic candidate in all but four elections. The Democrats had expanded their winning margin in each of

9483-581: The rate of Hope-Jones company, and more theatre organs than the rest of the theatre organ manufacturers combined. A number were shipped overseas, with the largest export market being the United Kingdom . The first of these theatre pipe organs to be shipped to the United Kingdom was dispatched from the North Tonawanda factory on 1 December 1924. It opened at its first location – The Picture House in Walsall , at

9592-590: The same organ. Both instruments have been substantially altered in more recent years. 5-Manual theatre organ consoles are extremely rare, and only three were built by Wurlitzer: In 1955, a group of enthusiasts met in the dining room of Richard Simonton , an early investor of Muzak and formed the American Theatre Organ Enthusiasts (ATOE) to preserve remaining theatre organs, including those by other builders, such as Morton , Möller , Kimball , Marr and Colton , Barton , and Kilgen . The ATOE

9701-705: The same set of powers by the Florida Constitution and state law . Unlike a consolidated city-county , where the city and county governments merge into a single entity, these two entities are separate. Instead there are two "tiers", or levels, of government: city and county. There are 34 municipalities in the county, the City of Miami being the largest. Cities are the "lower tier" of local government, providing police and fire protection, zoning and code enforcement, and other typical city services within their jurisdiction. These services are paid for by city taxes. The County

9810-578: The second, but it slowed the settlement of southeast Florida. At the end of the war, a few of the soldiers stayed. Dade County was created on February 4, 1836, under the Territorial Act of the United States. The county was named after Major Francis L. Dade , a soldier killed in 1835 in the Second Seminole War , at what has since been named the Dade Battlefield . Originally, the county was set to be named " Pinckney County ", after Thomas Pinckney ,

9919-424: The smaller 300-seat space and the 700-seat theatre proposed by Eidson, and keep all of the original exterior. Upon this development, Arquitectonica was tasked with looking into the budgetary requirements for this plan as well as how much of the historic architecture could be saved if the venue had two performance spaces. Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company , usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer ,

10028-513: The sole distributor of Holman-Woodell guitars, which were originally sold under the Wurlitzer brand. Wurlitzer then switched to an Italian guitar maker, Welson, before abandoning guitar sales altogether in 1969. While original Wurlitzer jukeboxes sold well, technology soon outpaced Wurlitzer. By the 1950s, other companies dominated the jukebox market. Wurlitzer sold its Martin rights to LeBlanc in 1971, to focus on its core markets with pianos and jukeboxes. In 1973, Wurlitzer sold its jukebox brand to

10137-417: The style 104 and style 105 were copied from a Gebrüder Bruder barrel organ. The style 146 was identical copied from Brüder's model 79 fairground organ, except that the side wings (portions of the façade concealing the drums) were removed. The style 157 was copied from a Gavioli special style of organ (only 2 or 3 of this style of organ are known to exist; the former organ at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom

10246-438: The three elections from 2008 to 2016; in 2008 and 2012 , Democrat Barack Obama averaged 59.69% of the vote. In 2016 , Democrat Hillary Clinton won 63.22% of the vote. However, in 2020 , Democrat Joe Biden only won 53.31% of the vote, winning the county by just over seven percent over Republican Donald Trump . This was attributed to a large swing of Cuban Americans , Venezuelan Americans , and other Hispanic Americans to

10355-412: The time of first European contact were the Tequesta people, who controlled much of southeastern Florida, including present-day Miami-Dade County, Broward County , and the southern part of Palm Beach County . The Tequesta Indians fished, hunted, and gathered the fruit and roots of plants for food, but did engage in agriculture. They buried the small bones of the deceased with the rest of the body, and put

10464-418: The time of the approval, the City of Miami government waived 1.5 million dollars worth of previously accumulated building violation fees. The current plan would see 85% of the historic theatre demolished and only the facade preserved. Additionally, the current plan calls for retail and commercial offices as well as condominiums to fill the area where the main room which contained the stage and seats. This plan

10573-425: The way around the case, allowing sound to escape the cabinet with the lids closed. The most notable feature was the symmetrical lids that opened like butterfly wings. These lids open to reveal a secondary ported removable inner lid. These lids are decoratively cut out to allow the sound to ring out via a large F hole, similar to a violin, as well as multiple radial slots along the outer edge. Another design innovation

10682-490: The world in theatres, museums, churches and private residences. With the onset of World War I , imports from Germany became problematic, and Wurlitzer found it necessary to increase manufacturing in the US. In the early 1930s, Wurlitzer built a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing and marketing facility in North Tonawanda, complete with employee recreation areas, showers and a cafeteria. It had two landscaped avenues which fanned out over

10791-415: Was 38.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males. The median income for a household in the county was $ 43,605, and the median income for a family was $ 50,065. Males had a median income of $ 35,096 versus $ 29,980 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 22,957. About 13.8% of families and 17.2% of the population were below

10900-580: Was at that time a major factor in Europe for vending machines and coin-operated phonographs, the internal word for jukeboxes. In 1974, when Wurlitzer in the US ceased to build jukeboxes, Deutsche Wurlitzer continued and served the European markets and partly also the USA by own distributors. Deutsche Wurlitzer GmbH was sold in 1985 to the Australian "Nelson Group of Companies, based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. As it

11009-545: Was due to a first rate marketing department (headed by future Indiana Senator Homer Capehart ), the reliable Simplex record changer, and the designs of engineer Paul Fuller who created many cabinet styles in the "light-up" design idiom. Another significant factor contributing to Wurlitzer's success was the end of Prohibition in 1933 and the resulting increase in the market for coin-operated music machines in bars and dance halls. Wurlitzer's original jukeboxes played only ten 78 rpm records, one side only, later expanded to 24. With

11118-437: Was moved to Juno, near present-day Juno Beach, Florida , returning to Miami in 1899. In 1909, Palm Beach County was formed from the northern portion of what was Dade County, and then in 1915, Palm Beach County and Dade County contributed nearly equal portions of land to create what is now Broward County. There have been no significant boundary changes to the county since 1915. The third-costliest natural disaster to occur in

11227-547: Was one, but it was destroyed in a fire). And, the style 165 is copied from the Gebrüder Bruder "Elite Apollo Orchester." As demand for organs grew from the fairground operators, Wurlitzer was approached by Eugene de Kleist , an-ex employee of Limonaire Frères and the founder of the North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory . After de Kleist developed the tonophone for the company, which won a gold medal at

11336-407: Was rivaled by a proposal for creating a 700-seat theatre at the space. The plan included areas for non-profit organizations to promote the arts by providing practice rooms and instruction. The group presenting this proposal was led by Mike Eidson, trust chairman at the Adrienne Arsht Center, a large performance complex in downtown Miami. Eidson's involvement in the deal was separate from his position at

11445-567: Was selected after a national search to succeed Mr. Ferrer. Among the productions that premiered here prior to a Broadway opening are Neil Simon ’s The Sunshine Boys , starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall , and Urban Cowboy . Sherry Glaser ’s Family Secrets moved to off-Broadway and became its longest running one-woman show. The Playhouse presented the world premiere of Fame: The Musical , which went on to great success in Baltimore , Philadelphia , and London ’s West End , and mounted

11554-540: Was the Archdiocese of Miami with 544,449 Catholics in 65 parishes, followed by 96,749 non-denominational adherents with 197 congregations, 80,123 SBC Baptists with 313 congregations, 47,921 NBC Baptists with 44 congregations, 27,901 Seventh-day Adventists in 62 congregations, 25,244 AoG Pentecostals with 45 congregations, 14,628 LDS Mormons with 18 congregations, 12,569 TEC Episcopalians with 30 congregations, and 11,880 UMC Methodists with 32 congregations. There

11663-461: Was the "Tone Amplifier". The device consists of a metal flat bar between the piano rim, running under the bass bridge to a fixed point on the soundboard, designed to bring out the tone on a smaller piano. A screw mechanism on top of the bridge allowed adjustment of the tonal output. Wurlitzer made at least three different versions of the 73 key model butterfly. Each had variations in appointments, such as legs, lyres, and sheet music stands. After

11772-487: Was the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history until Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf region in 2005. Miami-Dade County has previously attempted to change its name 5 times between 1958 and 1990, with voters rejecting each proposal. Below are the results of the previous elections to change the county's name: On November 13, 1997, voters changed the name of the county from "Dade County" to "Miami-Dade County" to acknowledge

11881-586: Was used by The Miami Actors Company, which was meant to be an extension of the National Theatre and Academy. The brainchild of Ilse Earl, who taught theatre classes at Miami Dade College , launched this effort. Only 20 actors from Miami and surrounding areas were chosen to become part of this historic event, out of more than 100 or so of those who were asked to audition. The company was reviewed by The Miami Herald theatre critic at that time. Shows involved, among others, were J.B. by Archibald MacLeish ; All

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