Restoring the pipe organ in La Salle-Peru Township High School's Matthiessen Auditorium is estimated to cost $500,000 to $550,000, and the L-P Foundation is expected to lead the fundraising. The 1929 Aeolian organ was described at the October board meeting as one of only about three of its kind still working in the United States, and the Building and Grounds Committee's report puts its value at about $1.75 million, though the district hasn't received the written valuation yet. Superintendent Clayton Theisinger said the district hasn't set aside money for the project and has no immediate plans to. The effort does have a head start: donations from a giving program started years ago are already earmarked for the organ, a new blower and blower room have been paid for, and a second organ of the same type in district storage could supply parts.
Restoring the pipe organ in La Salle-Peru Township High School's Matthiessen Auditorium is estimated to cost $500,000 to $550,000, and the L-P Foundation is expected to lead the fundraising. The 1929 Aeolian organ was described at the October board meeting as one of only about three of its kind still working in the United States, and the Building and Grounds Committee's report puts its value at about $1.75 million, though the district hasn't received the written valuation yet. Superintendent Clayton Theisinger said the district hasn't set aside money for the project and has no immediate plans to. The effort does have a head start: donations from a giving program started years ago are already earmarked for the organ, a new blower and blower room have been paid for, and a second organ of the same type in district storage could supply parts.
Source: Shaw Local
