St. Mark Roman Catholic Church - Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, NY
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Church of St. Mark the Evangelist
 (Roman Catholic)

Ocean Avenue and Avenue Z
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11235
http://www.stmarkbrooklyn.org/


Organ Specifications:
Ocean Avenue and Avenue Z (since 1929):
• III/ Peragallo Pipe Organ Company (c.2001)
► II/21 J.H. & C.S. Odell & Co., Op. 629 (1963)
• II/21 J.H. & C.S. Odell & Co., Op. 581 (1927)
Sheepshead Bay Road and East 14th Street
Second building (1893-burned 1929)
• II/17 E. & G.G. Hook (<1874)
First building (1861-burned 1893)
• unknown


Original St. Mark Roman Catholic Church - Brooklyn, N.Y.  
Second building (1893-1929)  
The parish of St. Mark the Evangelist was established in 1861 to serve Roman Catholics in the Sheepshead Bay area of Brooklyn. A wooden church with steeple was built on Sheepshead Bay Road and East 14th Street, was dedicated by Bishop McDonnell on August 20, 1893. In the early 1900s, the nearby Sheepshead Bay and Gravesend racing tracks attracted prominent and wealthy people to take area bungalows during the racing season; many of these racing enthusiasts attended St. Mark's and contributed generously to the church collections.

In the late 1920s, plans were made for a larger church. A plot was purchased on Ocean Avenue, with Avenue Z and Jerome Avenue on either side, and construction began. Before the new church was finished, the original wooden church was destroyed by fire on February 24, 1929. Masses were held temporarily in a nearby theatre until the present church was completed in March 1929. The new church is noted for its tall campanile and beautiful interior.
             
Peragallo Pipe Organ Company
Paterson, N.J. (c.2001)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals


About 2001, the Peragallo Pipe Organ Company installed a three-manual drawknob console in the chancel that controls the Odell organ in the rear gallery and what has been reported to be a 1909 Estey organ in the front of the church. Specifications of this organ have not yet been located.
             
J.H. & C.S. Odell & Co.
New York City – Opus 629 (1963)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 25 registers, 21 stops, 21 ranks


In 1963, J.H. & C.S. Odell rebuilt their Op. 581 of 1927, adding a floating Positiv division. The Contract (June 12, 1963) shows that the job cost $12,000.
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes
8
   Diapason
61
4
   Flute Harmonic
61
8
   Melodia
61
2 2/3
   Octave Quint
61
8
   Dulciana
61
8
   Capped Horn
61
4
   Octave
61
        
               
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
73
2 2/3
   Nazard
61
8
   Salicional
73
8
   Oboe
73
8
   Vox Celestis
73
8
   Vox Humana
61
8
   Gedeckt
73
     Tremulant  
4
   Principal
73
    
Cathedral Chimes
20 bells
4
   Rohr Flute
73
        
               
Positiv Organ (Floating) – 61 notes, enclosed
playable on Swell, Great and Pedal by means of a selector device
2
   Blockflute
61
1 1/3
   Larigot
61
1 3/5
   Tierce
61
1
   Flageolet
61
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
   Sub Bass
32
8
   Still Gedeckt
SW
16
   Bourdon
SW
4
   Super Octave
GT
8
   Diapason
GT
        
             
J.H. & C.S. Odell & Co.
New York City – Opus 581 (1927)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals


In 1927, a two-manual and pedal organ was built by the J.H. & C.S. Odell of New York City. The Contract (May 16, 1927) show that the organ cost $8,450. Specifications of this organ have not yet been located.
           
Organ in second building on Sheepshead Bay Road:

E. & G. G. Hook
Boston, Mass. (<1874)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 17 stops


From the files of Louis F. Mohr & Co., an organ service concern in the area, is a record noting that, in 1914, St. Mark's Church had a "Hook" organ with two manuals and 17 stops (Great 8, Swell 8, Pedal 1). The E. & G.G. Hook firm was succeeded by E. & G.G. Hook & Hastings in 1873, so this organ would have been a second-hand instrument.

Specifications of this organ have not yet been located.
             
Sources:
     The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X, Vol. III. New York: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914.
     The Diapason (Sept. 1964). Stoplist of J.H. & C.S. Odell organ, Op. 581-A (1964). Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.
     "Fire Destroys Church at Sheepshead Bay," The New York Times (Feb. 25, 1929).
     Forgotten New York website: http://www.forgotten-ny.com
     Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
     Petty, Bynum. J.H. & C.S. Odell Annotated Opus List.
     "St. Mark's Dedicated," Brooklyn Eagle (Aug. 21, 1893).

Illustration:
     Forgotten New York website. Exterior.