The Kimball pipe organ, with a commanding presence in the opulent Cloister Room, was dedicated on Februby John Jasper McClellan, a noted keyboard artist from The Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City (see program).5 The occasion was a conference called by hotel owner Miller, described as a "humanist, prohibitionist, and as a tireless worker for international peace,"6 to discuss peace proposals espoused by Andrew Carnegie, the well-known steel magnate and philanthropist. Painted portraits of the presidents line the wall of the lobby adjacent to the lounge.4 The Kimball Organ Richard and Pat Nixon were married in the Presidential Lounge, and Ronald and Nancy Reagan honeymooned there.
Kennedy attended a peace conference at The Inn. Presidents Harrison, McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt and Taft were guests.
Over the ensuing decades, the Mission Inn, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and California Historic Landmarks, played host to a star-spangled list of dignitaries. A focal point of the Cloister Room, located in the far right corner, is the three-manual Kimball pipe organ (see photo). In 1910 the Cloister wing was added, one of several additions, and appointed with costly furnishings and objets d'art collected by Miller in his world travels. Here was an opportunity, with a signature facility, to compete with Pasadena and Redlands for this lucrative patronage. The Mission Inn was built in 1903 as the Glenwood Mission Inn by Frank Augustus Miller (1857-1935) to the design of architect Arthur Burnett Benton, who championed the Mission Revival architectural style as an expression of California's Spanish Colonial heritage.3 Miller was responding to the growing demand by wealthy easterners for a warm winter climate and the luxurious features of a resort hotel. Esther Klotz, the enthusiastic support of hotel management and the untiring efforts of a local organbuilder who spent countless hours over two years bringing the instrument back to life. John Longhurst commented in his opening remarks: "its retention, renovation and recognition are a tribute to reverence for the past and a vision for the future." The project reflects the combined efforts of The Friends of the Mission Inn, a nonprofit support group, the generous bequest of the estate of Riverside historian Mrs. Music at The Inn transcended the locality and reached the hearts of people everywhere when, in 1909, the noted song writer Carrie Jacobs-Bond (1862-1946) was inspired to write her most famous ballad "A Perfect Day" while visiting The Inn.1 This became the theme song of the programs and, appropriately, was the closing number of the recital which followed the banquet.Ī milestone in the rich and colorful history of the pipe organ in America, the Kimball organ at the Mission Inn stands today as one of the few remaining hotel pipe organs in this country.2 As recitalist Dr.
This majestic instrument, played daily by the staff organist and assistants in the early decades of the last century, was a defining characteristic of this world-famous resort hotel and a fond memory of the many guests who stayed there. On Saturday evening, October 25, 2003, a gala banquet and recital for 250 guests in the Music Room of the Mission Inn in Riverside, California celebrated the rededication of the newly restored 1911 Kimball pipe organ. When the sun goes down with a flaming ray, While the chimes ring out with a carol gay,ĭo you think what the end of a Perfect Day When you come to the end of a Perfect Day,
0 kommentar(er)
