Memorial Presbyterian Church - Brooklyn, NY
Click on image to enlarge
Memorial Presbyterian Church

186 St. Johns Place at Seventh Avenue
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11217
http://memorialpresbyterian.com/


Organ Specifications:
186 St. Johns Place at 7th Avenue (since 1883)
► III/35 Austin Organ Company, Op. 197 (1908)
• II/32 L.C. Harrison (c.1883)
Warren Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues (1866-1883)
• unknown




Memorial Presbyterian Church was founded in 1866 by the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church to commemorate a great revival that took place that year. The first church building, a wooden structure that occupied a space of about 110 feet by 50 feet, was erected on Warren Street (now Prospect Place), between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, in what was then a rapidly growing area of Brooklyn. The church was finished and occupied in October 1866. Cost of the building and land was $7,500.

The present church building at the corner of St. Johns Place and Seventh Avenue was erected in 1882-83. As designed by Pugin & Walter, the decorated Gothic structure measures 95 by 67 feet and is constructed of Belleville brownstone with a roof of blue slate. At the corner is a buttressed tower, surmounted by a 117 foot high stone spire, that serves as a porch above the main entrance to the church. The pews in the auditorium are circular in form and provide seating for about 800 people. The edifice was opened on February 18, 1883.

Memorial Presbyterian is within the Park Slope Historic District, designated in 1973 by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
               
Austin Organ Company
Hartford, Conn. – Opus 197 (1908)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 46 stops, 35 ranks


The current organ in Memorial Presbyterian Church was built in 1908 by the Austin Organ Company. S. Lewis Elmer, AAGO, was the organist at the time. As originally built, the organ had four manuals and 47 stops. At some point, the original console was replaced by the present three-manual Austin console. The following specifications were recorded (Dec. 2006) by John Klauder, organ serviceman of Brooklyn. Pipecounts were not given but are suggested below, based on similar Austin organs of the era. The organ is extant but unplayable due to age and smoke damage from a fire.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes
16
   Major Diapason
61
8
   Gamba
61
8
   Principal Diapason
61
4
   Octave
61
8
   Small Diapason
61
4
   Harmonic Flute
61
8
   Gross Flute
61
8
   Trumpet
61

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
73
4
   Flauto Traverso
74
8
   Open Diapason
73
 4
   Violina
73
8
   Rohr Flute
73
 8
   Cornopean
73
8
   Viole d'Orchestre
73
8
   Oboe
73
8
   Celeste [TC]
61
     Tremolo  
8
   Echo Salicional
73
        

     

     
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Geigen Principal
73
2
   Piccolo
61
8
   Concert Flute
73
8
   Clarinet
73
8
   Dulciana
73
     Tremolo  
8
   Unda Maris [TC]
61
     Harp  
4
   Flute d'Amour
73
        

     

     
Echo Organ (stop tabs in both Swell and Choir divisions) – 61 notes
8
   Cor d'Nuit
61
4
   Chimney Flute
61
8
   Gedeckt
61
8
   Cor Anglais
61
8
   Aeoline
61
8
   Vox Humana  
8
   Voix Angelique
61
     Tremolo  
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
   Open Diapason
44
 16
   Echo Bourdon [ext. EC]
12
16
   Bourdon
32
8
   Gross Flute [Op. Diap.]
—
16
   Violone
44
8
   Violoncello
—
16
   Lieblich Gedeckt
SW
        
               
Couplers
    Great to Pedal 8', 4'   Swell to Choir 16', 8', 4'
    Swell to Pedal 8', 4'   Choir to Swell 8'
    Choir to Pedal 8', 4'   Great to Great 4'
    Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'   Swell to Swell 16', 4'
    Choir to Great 16', 8', 4'   Choir to Choir 16', 4'
               
Adjustable Combinations
   
Swell & Echo Organs Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 (thumb)
Great Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 (thumb)
Choir & Echo Organs Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 (thumb)
Pedal Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5 (toe)
Full Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 (thumb & toe)
               
Pedal Movements
    Balanced Echo Pedal   Great to Pedal Reversible
    Balanced Choir Pedal   Sforzando Reversible
    Balanced Swell Pedal    
   
Register Crescendo Pedal
    
               
L. C. Harrison & Co.
New York City (1883)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 32 stops


The original organ for Memorial Presbyterian Church was built in 1883 by L.C. Harrison, who had acquired the Henry Erben & Son organ building concern a few years earlier. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
               
Sources:
     Dolkart, Andrew S. and Matthew A. Postal. Guide to New York City Landmarks (Third Edition). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2004.
     "Ground Broken," Brooklyn Eagle (Mar. 13, 1882).
     Klauder, John. Specifications (Dec. 2006) of Austin Organ, Op. 197 (1908). Courtesy Barry Kloda.
     "Memorial Presbyterian Church," Brooklyn Eagle (Apr. 24, 1867).
     Morrone, Francis. An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn. Brooklyn: Gibbs Smith, 2001.
     Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
     "New Churches: Opening Services in Two Edifices Yesterday," Brooklyn Eagle (Feb. 19, 1883).
     Ochse, Orpha. Austin Organs. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 2001.

Illustration:
     Google Street View. Exterior.