St. Augustine's Catholic Church - Brooklyn, N.Y. (vintage postcard)
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St. Augustine Catholic Church

116 Sixth Avenue at Sterling Place
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11217
http://www.staugustineparkslope.org


Organ Specifications:
116 Sixth Avenue, corner Sterling Place (since 1886)
► III/21 Geo. Kilgen & Son, Op. 5334 (1933)
► III/43 Reuben Midmer & Sons (1915)
Fifth Avenue at Bergen (1872-1886)
• unknown



St. Augustine's Roman Catholic Church was organized in 1870. The well-to-do Irish congregation met in a house on Warren Street before building their first church, on Fifth Avenue at Bergen Street, a year later at a cost of $43,000. The church initially planned to erect a school, and ultimately a larger church, but the intrusion of the elevated stream train along Fifth Avenue resulted in the church selling the property to the railway.

St. Augustine's Catholic Church - Brooklyn, N.Y. (New York Architecture Images website)  
An immense vacant lot bounded by Sixth Avenue, Park Place and Sterling Place was purchased for $50,000 cash, and plans were made for a complex which would include a church, parochial house and school, and possibly a chapel. Ground was broken on November 6, 1887 for the church edifice proper, which was expected to cost $150,000 and take two years to build. At the time, though, the exact plan had not been decided upon, and it would be almost five years before the church was dedicated on May 15, 1892.

The new church was designed in a transitional English-Gothic style by the Parfitt Brothers, a leading architectural firm responsible for many public buildings, churches and residences in Brooklyn. Built of brownstone, St. Augustine's occupies more than half a block between Sterling and Park Places. The great tower, surmounted by a large cross, is 26 feet square and rises to a height of 150 feet. In the tower is an 18-note set of Deagan Tubular Tower Chimes, installed in 1923.

  St. Augustine's Catholic Church - Brooklyn, N.Y. (New York Architecture Images website)
  Many decorative furnishings adorn the interior, including the ornate pulpit, an altar which cost $20,000, and the 18-foot tall sanctuary lamp, made by Tiffany & Co., which has seven angels with uplifted wings atop a corona. There are thirty-five stained glass windows, many executed by the Tiffany Art Glass Co., which total 3,600 square feet and cost $30,000.
             
Geo. Kilgen & Son
St. Louis, Mo. – Opus 5334 (1933)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 27 stops, 21 ranks


In 1933, Geo. Kilgen & Son of St. Louis were contracted to rebuild the 1915 Midmer organ. Kilgen installed new windchests, and many if not all of the pipes were retained from the Midmer organ.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes
8
  Open Diapason
61
4
  Octave
61
8
  Doppel Flöte
61
8
  Trumpet
61
8
  Gemshorn
61
  Chimes
               
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
  Horn Diapason
73
4
   Flauto Traverso
73
8
  Stopped Flute
73
8
  Cornopean
73
8
  Salicional
73
8
  Oboe
73
8
  Voix Celeste [TC]
61
  Tremolo
4
   Principal
73
   
               
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Violin Diapason
73
8
   Clarinet
73
8
   Concert Flute
73
  Tremolo
8
   Dulciana
73
  Chimes
4
   Flute d'Amour
73
   
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
32
  Resultant
—
8
  Bass Flute [from Op. Diap.]
12
16
  Open Diapason
44
8
   Cello [from Violone]
12
16
   Violone
44
8
   Gedeckt
SW
16
   Bourdon
32
16
   Trombone [ext. GT Tpt.]
12
16
   Lieblich Gedeckt [ext. SW]
12
  Pedal Octaves
           
Reuben Midmer & Sons
Brooklyn, N.Y. (1915)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 45 stops, 43? ranks


The New York Times account (May 16, 1892) of the dedication of St. Augustine's Church stated: "The altar from the old church will be used until the new twenty thousand altar is completed, and the old organ is being used, as the new one is not quite finished." In fact, the new organ was not to be installed for another 23 years!

Announcement in The Diapason (August 1, 1915):

Reuben Midmer & Son
Build Organ of Power
For St. Augustine's Church

Edifice in Brooklyn to Have Large
Three-Manual with Effective
Specification — Seventy-three
Pipes on Every Stop
Reuben Midmer & Son of Brooklyn are building a three-manual organ which will have great power and variety for St. Augustine's Catholic church of Brooklyn, thus adding to the large number of instruments constructed by them for their home city. Throughout the three manuals every stop will have seventy-three pipes and in the pedals there will be forty-four and forty-two [sic] pipes on all stops, making the registers effective throughout the scale when couplers are used. The action will be electric.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes
16
  Open Diapason
73
4
  Octave
73
8
  First Open Diapason
73
4
  Flute Harmonique
73
8
  Second Open Diapason
73
2
  Super Octave
61
8
  Viola Di Gamba
73
16
   Trumpet
73
8
   Gemshorn
73
8
   Trumpet
73
8
   Gross Flöte
73
  Harp
8
   Doppel Flöte
73
        
               
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
  Bourdon
73
2
  Flageolet
61
8
  Horn Diapason
73
  Dolce Cornet 3 ranks
183
8
  Salicional
73
16
  Contra Tuba
73
8
  Viol d'Orchestre
73
8
  Cornopean
73
8
  Vox Celeste
73
8
  Oboe
73
8
   Stopped Diapason
73
8
   Vox Humana
73
4
   Principal
73
  Tremulant
4
   Flauto Traverso
73
   
               
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Contra Gamba
73
4
   Violina
73
8
   Violin Diapason
73
4
   Flute d'Amour
73
8
   Dulciana
73
2
   Piccolo
61
8
   Flute Clarinet
73
8
   Clarinet
73
8
   Unda Maris
73
  Tremulant
8
   Concert Flute
73
  Cathedral Chimes
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
32
  Contra Bourdon
44
16
  Violone
44
16
  Open Diapason
44
8
   Violoncello
—
16
   Bourdon
44
16
   Trombone
44
16
   Lieblich Gedeckt
SW
8
   Tromba
—
8
   Flute
—
   
             
Sources:
     "A Tour and Festival in Old Park Slope," The New York Times (May 30, 1980).
     "Midmer Organ Is Placed: Large Three-Manual Is in St. Augustine's Catholic Church," The Diapason (Nov. 1,1916). Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.
     Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
     "Reuben Midmer & Son Build Organ of Power for St. Augustine's Church," The Diapason (Aug. 1, 1915). Stoplist of Reuben Midmer & Son organ (1915). Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.
     "St. Augustine's Art Windows," The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (May 21, 1896).
     "St. Augustine's New Edifice Dedicated Yesterday," The New York Times (May 16, 1892).
     "The New St. Augustine's Church on Prospect Hill," The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Oct. 30, 1887).
     Tower Bells Supersite web site: http://home.swbell.net/csz_stl/towerbells/TowerBells.html
     Trupiano, Larry. Specifications of Geo. Kilgen & Son organ, Op. 5334 (1933).

Illustrations:
     New York Architecture Images web site <www.nyc-architecture.com>: color exterior and interior
     Roman Catholic Churches of Brooklyn web site: <http://home.earthlink.net/~desmondcorp/tim/churches.htm>: vintage postcard