Photo by mana5280 on Unsplash By Jay Barmann - Published on January 25, 2021. The new hybrid digital/pipe organ that has been in the works for the grand Castro Theatre for about six years is finally about to become a reality, and depending on how long it takes to ship from Pennsylvania and how long it takes for movie theaters to safely reopen in San Francisco, it may arrive just time for the Castro's next public screenings. SFGate brings us the latest on the new organ project, which Hoodline first reported on in 2015. The Castro Theatre's Mighty Wurlitzer organ, which had been in use and technically on loan since the 1980s, had fallen into disrepair as far back as 2013, and longtime organist David Hegarty launched a fundraising drive to replace it. The resulting organ, the finishing touches upon which are still being done by the Walker Technical Company in Zionsville, Pennsylvania, is the largest hybrid organ in the world — and it's been custom-designed for the theater, which has had an organist regularly doing pre-show concerts going back to the 1920s.