It was last June when we reported that a fire in Lake City, Iowa destroyed the Dobson Pipe Organ building, seen below, and their future was uncertain.

Google Maps
Google Maps
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Dobson wasn't just any organ shop. It was a big provider of jobs for the tiny community (according to a Google search, the 2015 population stood at 1,766) for over 5 decades, and they've built instruments for some big-time people and organizations. At the time of the fire, they had just completed one for the University of Dubuque.

On their Facebook page, Dobson provided the good news that they have been working with Badding Construction in Carroll, Iowa on the construction of a new building for their shop!

It will be on the same lot as the fire-damaged old shop, with groundbreaking set for September. The historic Dobson Pipe Organ Builders has constructed organs for the likes of Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.  They are now getting a fresh start to continue their work, which is incredible news for their employees and their community.

Dobson Pipe Organ Builders/Facebook, ASK Studio
Dobson Pipe Organ Builders/Facebook, ASK Studio
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As implied in the Facebook post above, the photo is not the rendering of the future Dobson Pipe Organ shop, but a vision of how the new shop will play into its surroundings.

Benjamin K. Hoskins
Benjamin K. Hoskins
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Since the fire, KCCI says Dobson has been continuing their work in two donated spaces and is in the midst of a project for St. James King Street Church in Sydney, Australia.

Happy endings are the best and we're delighted to hear Dobson Pipe Organ Builders is getting one.

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