By Diana Nollen/ SourceMedia

The "new" 1920s Mighty Wurlitzer console returned to the Paramount Theatre in downtown Cedar Rapids on Monday, Oct. 15, 2012. Ken Crome of Reno, Nev., whose company did the restoration work, eyes the console after it was moved into a storage space behind the Paramount's orchestra pit. Another year's worth of painstaking restoration remains on the organ's inner workings. (Neal Marple/CRATOS photo)

Final touches are under way and the grand and glorious Paramount Theatre will swing open its front doors after a celebration ribbon cutting at noon Friday, Oct. 26, 2012.

Free guided public tours will leave from the Hall of Mirrors every half hour through through 4:30 p.m. (Details)

The halls of the historic venue, heavily damaged in the Floods of 2008, will sing and swing again when Harry Connick Jr. performs the gala inaugural concert Nov. 3. Just one seat remains for that show. The Oak Ridge Boys follow with two performances Nov. 4. Orchestra Iowa, the theater’s primary tenant, presents its Homecoming concert Nov. 10 and an open house will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 11. Monthly open houses are in the works. (Details)

The Mighty Wurlitzer’s “new” 1928 console is back, too, even though it won’t be operational for another year. The process is painstaking and complex beyond anything you can imagine. (For updates, go to the Cedar Rapids Area Theatre Organ Society’s website.)

The theater is located at 123 Third Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids.

I was there Monday, and the place is stunning. It’s bigger and brighter, showcasing a perfect blend of 1920s historical accuracy with 21st century updates. I can’t wait to tell you all about it. See our full package on the $35 million restoration — packed with stories, photos and videos — Oct. 28 in The Gazette and thegazette.com