St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church - Brooklyn, N.Y. (Brooklyn Eagle, August 25, 1932)
 
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Church of St. Rose of Lima
(Roman Catholic)

269 Parkville Avenue at East 8th Street
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11230
www.stroseoflimabrooklyn.com


Organ Specifications:
269 Parkville Avenue at East 8th Street (since 1925)
► III/55 Holtkamp Organ Company, Job 1744 (1962)
• II/11 Earl J. Beach (c.1925)
Lawrence Avenue near East 1st Street (1870-1925)
Second building (1914-1925)
• Reuben Midmer & Son? (1914)
First building (1870-1914)
• II/20 George Jardine & Son (1889)


1870 building of St. Rose of Lima Church - Brooklyn, NY (Brooklyn Eagle)  
1870 Church Building  
The parish of St. Rose of Lima was founded in 1870 by the Rev. Michael J. Moran to serve the vast area known as Parkville and the growing Catholic population around Ocean Parkway. Property was secured on Lawrence Avenue, near East 1st Street, and the cornerstone of a small church building was laid on August 21, 1870. Bishop Loughlin dedicated the completed wooden structure on November 27, 1870. For the first four years the fledgling church was attended from the Church of the Holy Cross. Father Moran was succeeded by the Rev. James J. Dougherty in 1871, who served until October 1874, when Parkville was made a separate parish and the Rev. James McKiverkin was appointed the first resident rector.

In 1886, the Rev. James J. McAleese became the second rector, a position he would hold until his death in 1930. Under his leadership, property was purchased for a school house that was erected in 1891 and administered by the Sisters of St. Joseph. Shortly after, Father McAleese purchased a house on Washington Avenue, directly behind the church, to serve as the rectory. In 1908, a new three-story rectory was built and the old rectory was remodeled as a convent for the Sisters. A larger church building, of brick with terra cotta trimmings and costing $90,000, was dedicated on January 14, 1914.

By the 1920s, the congregation had outgrown its second church. Property on Parkville Avenue was purchased and plans were made for a new facility. The cornerstone for the present Tudor Gothic building was laid on June 25, 1922, and the completed church was dedicated on April 19, 1925. As originally built, the interior was highly decorated but the walls and ceiling have since been painted white.
               
  Holtkamp Organ (1962) at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church - Brooklyn, NY
   
  Holtkamp Organ (1962) at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church - Brooklyn, NY
Holtkamp Organ Company
Cleveland, Ohio – Job 1744 (1962)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 42 registers, 40 stops, 55 ranks









The present organ in St. Rose of Lima Church was built in 1961 by the Holtkamp Organ Company of Cleveland at a cost of $55,000. Holtkamp delivered the organ in November 1961, and it was completed in March 1962. Walter Holtkamp, Sr., died during the installation of this organ. Pitman chests are used throughout with the exception of the Great division which is on a slider chest.

The organ was dedicated by Leonard Raver, who performed Fantasia in G major, Trio Sonata in E minor, and Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor by J.S. Bach; Choral No. 1 in E major by César Franck; Sonata for Organ, Op. 86 by Vincent Persichetti; and Litanies by Jehan Alain.

In 2012, the organ was restored by Robert Rast, organ builder in Brooklyn.
               
Great Organ Manual II) – 61 notes
16
  Quintadena
61
2
  Hohlflöte
61
8
  Principal
61
1 1/3
  Octave Quint
61
8
  Gedackt
61
  Mixture IV ranks
244
4
   Octave
61
16
   Dulzian
61
4
   Spitzflöte
61
8
   Trumpet
* 73
 
     
 
     
Swell Organ Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
  Chimney Flute
61
2
  Doublette
61
8
  Lieblich Gedackt
61
  Cornet III ranks
183
8
  Gambe
61
  Plein Jeu IV ranks
244
8
  Voix Celeste (GG)
56
8
  Fagott
61
4
  Octave Geigen
61
4
   Clarion
* 85
4
   Bourdon
61
        
 
     
 
     
Positiv Organ Manual I) – 61 notes
8
  Copula
61
2
   Blockflöte
61
4
   Praestant
61
1 3/5
  Tierce
61
4
   Rohrflöte
61
     Fourniture III ranks
183
2 2/3
  Nazard
61
8
   Cromorne
61
2
   Octava
61
    
Glockenzimbel
12 bells
 
     
 
     
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
   Principal
32
4
   Nachthorn
32
16
   Subbass
32
     Mixture IV ranks
128
16
   Quintadena
GT
16
   Posaune
32
8
   Octave
32
16
   Dulzian
GT
8
   Flauto Dolce
32
8
   Trumpet
32
4
   Choralbass
32
4
   Schalmey
32
               
           
* [sic] pipecounts from dedication program
Couplers
    Great to Pedal   Swell to Great
    Swell to Pedal   Positiv to Great
    Positiv to Pedal   Swell to Positiv
               
Combinations – adjustable by setterboard
   
Great Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5 (thumb)
Swell Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5 (thumb)
Positiv Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5 (thumb)
Pedal Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5 (toe)
Entire Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb & toe)
               
Accessories
    Balanced Swell Pedal   Full Organ Pedal (hookdown)
    Crescendo Pedal   Full Organ Indicator
    Crescendo Indicator   Glockenzimbel Pedal (hookdown)
               
Earl J. Beach
Newark, N.J. (c.1925)
Tubular-pneumatic action
2 manuals


Earl J. Beach of Newark rebuilt the existing organ by Reuben Midmer & Son and installed it in the Upper Church of St. Rose of Lima. Specifications of this organ have not yet been located.

Earl J. Beach previously worked with the Hope-Jones Organ Co. of Elmira, NY, and was later (c.1910) a voicer for the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company in North Tonawanda, N.Y. In 1920, he established his own firm in Newark, N.J.

When the new Holtkamp Organ was installed in 1962, the Beach organ was moved to St. Athanasius Church in Brooklyn, where it was rebuilt with electro-pneumatic action by Frederick J. Lloyd of New Hyde Park.
               
Organ installed in the second church building:

Reuben Midmer & Sons?
Brooklyn, N.Y. (1907)


It is not certain who built the organ for the second church building. Specifications of this organ have not yet been located.
               
Organ installed in the original church building:

George Jardine & Son
New York City (1889)
Mechanical action
2 manuals

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 (July 1962). Holtkamp Organ Company advertisement with stoplist of the 1962 organ. Courtesy Jeff Scofield.
     Fox, David H. A Guide to North American Organbuilders (Rev. ed.). Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.
     "Mgr. J. J. M'Aleese Dies at Age of 83," The New York Times (Nov. 4, 1930).
     St. Rose of Lima Church website: www.stroseoflimabrooklyn.com
     "St. Rose of Lima's Church," Brooklyn Eagle (Jul. 19, 1896).
     Trupiano, Larry. Dedication program with specifications of Holtkamp Organ (1962).
     "Twenty-five Years a Priest," Brooklyn Eagle (Nov. 2, 1899).

Illustrations:
     Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection. Brooklyn Eagle (Jul. 19, 1896). Drawing of 1870 church.
     Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection. Brooklyn Eagle (Aug. 25, 1932). Exterior.
     Trupiano, Larry. Holtkamp Organ (1962).