History
After the hall's completion, it was used privately by Searles until his death in 1920. It then passed to Searles' secretary, Arthur Thomas Walker, as residuary legatee. Walker died in 1927, leaving the hall to his niece, Ina Cecil McEachran of Detroit.
In 1930, part of the property including the hall was purchased by Lillian Wightman Andrew (1982-1961), wife of local banker Francis Martin Andrew (1880–1967). In 1931, the hall was purchased by noted organbuilder Ernest M. Skinner for a mere $10,000.
Under Skinner's ownership, there were public choral and organ performances which included works by Brahms, Bach, and Handel, with recitals by organists including Marcel Dupre and E. Power Biggs. In 1936, Skinner incorporated an organ building company on the property, "Ernest M. Skinner and Son Company" using the Methuen Organ Company factory building which was attached to the music hall by a covered walkway.
This business initially prospered, building several notable pipe organs including the one for the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. Interestingly, the National Cathedral was designed by Henry Vaughan, who designed the music hall. The Second World War caused the failure of the company, and in August 1942 the company assets, including the music hall, were transferred to trustees (Arthur T. Wasserman and Matthew Brown) as protection from creditors.
In 1943, a court decree allowed the Essex Savings Bank of Lawrence to sell the property in order to pay mortgages held by the Andrews and Skinner's son, Richmond H. Skinner. In June 1943, a fire destroyed the organ factory building but the music hall was largely undamaged. In July, the mortgage sale was completed, with Essex Savings Bank buying the property at auction for $55,000.
In May 1946, eight local residents founded a charitable organization to buy and maintain the music hall, operating it as a cultural center. In 1947 the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company was engaged to rebuild the organ. The tonal structure of the organ was changed and a new detached console was added.
Read more about this topic: Methuen Memorial Music Hall
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