See the famous organ console in the United States / Canada Gallery
MIM associate exhibit designer Remy Nelson takes a photograph of the Chicago Stadium organ console in the United States / Canada Gallery.
Gift in memory of Phillip F. Maloof by the Maloof Foundation
In MIM’s United States / Canada Gallery, guests can stand beside the massive red and gold console of an iconic instrument from American sports history: the Chicago Stadium pipe organ. The original organ was played during thousands of sporting events over 65 years at the legendary arena. Now the historic organ’s console is on public display for the first time in more than 30 years.
“The organ was originally installed in Chicago Stadium in 1929, and it was in use from its original installation until the stadium was closed in the mid-’90s,” says Rich Walter, MIM’s curator for United States / Canada. “Millions of people have gone to Chicago Bulls basketball games, Blackhawks hockey games, boxing matches—all kinds of events in that stadium—and heard this organ.”
People stand on a platform with the organ console during construction of Chicago Stadium in 1929.
Photograph courtesy of Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum.
Fully assembled, the instrument was the largest ever built by the Maxcy-Barton Organ Co., with six manuals and more than 800 stop tabs controlling 51 ranks of pipes and various percussion instruments. It was the first organ to be installed in a sports arena. The organ was also incredibly loud. Its overwhelming volume helped earn the stadium the nickname “the Madhouse on Madison,” and legend says that the stadium’s longtime organist, Al Melgard, once quelled a riot by leaning on the organ’s manuals and stunning the crowd with a deafening sound. But usually the organ invigorated fans’ experiences. Organists would open games by playing the national anthem and stoke excitement by playing fanfares when the home teams scored.
After Chicago Stadium was demolished, the original organ pipes were scattered and damaged—and some were lost to a fire. But the organ’s distinctive console, the largest surviving element of the instrument, was purchased by collector Phil Maloof (1926–2020), who preserved it in his home and enjoyed it with friends for many years. In June, the one-of-a-kind Barton console joined MIM’s permanent collection as a generous gift from the Maloof Foundation, which also supports school and youth field trips at MIM.
Three theater organ specialists disassembled the huge console in Maloof’s residence in Las Vegas and prepared it for transport to MIM. With help from MIM’s conservator and preparators, the organ technicians brought the disassembled console into the museum and carefully reassembled it in the United States / Canada Gallery.
Left: MIM conservator Rodrigo Correa-Salas cleans the stop tabs of the Barton organ console.
Right: Members of MIM’s curatorial and exhibit teams and theater organ specialists place the base
of the organ console in the United States / Canada Gallery.
MIM security manager Chuck Cochran grew up attending basketball and hockey games at Chicago Stadium, hearing the organ and feeling its music reverberate through the building.
“The organ wasn’t just background music; it was part of the heartbeat of Chicago sports,” Cochran says. “That’s why seeing it again at MIM feels so special. For me, it’s more than an instrument—it’s a living piece of Chicago history that’s connected generations of fans and helped define the atmosphere of some of the greatest moments in sports.”