— — The Wurlitzer name is still synonymous with the Lumber City, though finding just one of the more than 2,000 organs the Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. created is becoming increasingly difficult.

Five items originally built at the Wurlitzer factory in North Tonawanda almost a century ago will be put up for auction near the end of the month and are expected to rein in more than $2.5 million through a well-known auction house.

A private collection of the historically significant objects constructed at the Erie Avenue building in the early 20th century will be bid out by RM Auctions on Feb. 24 and 25. Another five Wurlitzer products made outside of the city will also be part of the sale.

Carlton Smith, who has spent the last 34 years restoring theater organs through his Indianapolis business, said there are only about 200 Wurlitzers left, which make so many of them sold at once an “exceedingly rare” opportunity, likely reserved for millionaire collectors.

“Wurlitzer historians like myself were all kind of thrilled,” he said, when he recently discovered so many organs would be sold off at once.

Headlining the array is a Wurlitzer Concert PianOrchestra Style 32-A, which is the only example of the model built by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. in 1912, and the only one known to exist today.

It was the largest and most expensive of automatic instruments sold by Wurlitzer and was first used in Colorado at a location called Crystal Palace, where it remained until 1953. The organ was fully restored by a California collector in the mid-1990s and is expected to fetch up to $1.2 million at auction.

Another organ called Wurlitzer Style 157 was built during the 1920s and used for carousels and amusements parks. Made from green-dry waxed paper to create a barrier against humidity, it was created to survive in outdoor environments and constructed in 1924. Only 10 are known to exist today. It is listed at $400,000.

The only non-organ item among the collection that is for sale is likely one that many North Tonawandans are likely to have set eyes on — a 30-by 5-foot neon sign that has been professionally restored and was once affixed to the center tower of the Wurlitzer building. It could bring in between $30,000 to $50,000, a spokesperson from the auction house said. It is one of two ever used at the building.

A Wurlitzer Mandolin PianOrchestra, Style 28-B, built in 1910 is expected to sell for up to $250,000, while organizers expect a 1920 Wurlitzer Solo Violin Piano to break $100,000.

“Each one has its own original story to it,” said Katherine McFadden, a spokesperson for RM Auctions.

Frank Cannata, executive director of the Riviera Theatre is by no means an expert on Wurlitzer organs. But he heads into the theatre each day with the knowledge that the Riviera and Shea’s Theatre in Buffalo are the only two locales in the region to have a Wurlitzer theatre organ.

The once-revered musical instruments used as a backdrop for silent films took the place of orchestras and now cost about $250,000 to $350,000 to refurbish, Smith said.

Cannata, who has a background with church organs, said he’s not proficient enough to perform but nonetheless fortunate to have a dwindling testament to the city’s past.

“Nowadays, most of those organs have wound up in scrap yards, peoples’ homes and churches,” Cannata said.

The lucky and wealthy collectors for these relics, however, are likely to find a more luxurious place to display them from now on.

The organ collection is merely a part of a vast, opulent collection of classic Americana — including a score of classic cars that are also hitting the auction bloc — assembled by two brothers, Bob and Paul Milhous. They are presently stored in a private, invitation-only museum in Florida, according to the magazine Classic & Sports Cars. An article the magazine published in August 2011 shows the Wurlitzer organs and sign displayed among a veritable cornucopia of other neon company signs and faux streetscapes.

The auction, conducted in conjunction with the international auction house Sotheby’s, is scheduled to take place Feb. 24-25 in Boca Raton, Fla.