St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church - Bronx, N.Y. (credit: New York Big Apple Images)
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St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church

1343 Fulton Avenue
The Bronx, N.Y. 10456


Organ Specifications:
1343 Fulton Avenue near 169th Street (1897-c.2010)
► III/26 Skinner Organ Company, Op. 695 (1928)
• II/ Müller & Abel, Op. 7 (1897)
East 169th Street near Third Avenue (1865-1897)
• unknown
East 163rd Street near Third Avenue (1860-1865)
• unknown



St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded in 1860 as the Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische St. Johannes Kirche. The congregation was located on East 163rd Street, near Third Avenue, from 1860-1865, and then moved to East 169th Street, near Third Avenue, where they remained for 32 years. In 1897, the congregation moved into a stone Gothic edifice on Fulton Avenue. About 2010, the congregation disbanded and the building became Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ).
               
Case Design for Skinner Organ, Op. 695 (1928) in St. John Lutheran Church - Bronx, NY (Organ Historical Society Archives)   Case Design for Skinner Organ, Op. 695 (1928) in St. John Lutheran Church - Bronx, NY (Organ Historical Society Archives)
Case designs for Skinner Organ, Op. 695 (Organ Historical Society Archives)
Skinner Organ Company
Boston, Mass. – Opus 695 (1928)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 23 stops, 26 ranks


The second organ for St. John's Lutheran was built in 1928 by the Skinner Organ Company of Boston. This organ served the church for more than 80 years. In January 2011, the organ was sold to St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Marion, Iowa, where it was restored without alterations by Jeff Weiler & Associates of Chicago. The restored organ was dedicated on November 11, 2012.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes (6" pressure)
8
   First Open Diapason
61
4
   Principal
61
8
   Second Open Diapason
61
8
   French Horn (enc. in SW)
61
8
   Clarabella
61
    
Chimes (old w/ new action)
25 tubes

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed (7½" pressure)
16
   Bourdon
73
4
   Flute Triangulaire
73
8
   Open Diapason
73
 
   Mixture III ranks [15,19,22]
183
8
   Rohr Flute
73
16
   Contra Oboe
73
8
   Salicional
73
8
   Trumpet
73
8
   Voix Celeste
73
8
   Vox Humana
73
8
   Flute Celeste II ranks
134
     Tremolo  
4
   Octave
73
        

     

     
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed (6" pressure)
8
   Concert Flute
73
8
   Clarinet
73
8
   Dulciana
73
     Tremolo  
8
   Gamba
73
        
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes (5" pressure)
16
   Open Diapason
44
8
   Flute (fr. Bourdon)
—
16
   Bourdon
44
8
   Echo Lieblich
SW
16
   Lieblich
SW
16
   Oboe
SW
8
   Octave (fr. Op. Diap.)
—
     Chimes
GT
               
Couplers
    Great to Pedal 8'   Swell to Choir 8'
    Swell to Pedal 8', 4'   Great 16', 4'
    Choir to Pedal 8'   Swell 16', 4'
    Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'   Choir 16', 4'
    Choir to Great 16', 8', 4'    
               
Adjustable Combinations
   
Swell Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5 (thumb) Ped. to Comb. on/off (thumb)
Great Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4 (thumb) Ped. to Comb. on/off (thumb)
Choir Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4 (thumb) Ped. to Comb. on/off (thumb)
Pedal Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4 (thumb)  
General Pistons 1-2-3 (thumb)  
  Set Piston (thumb)  
  General Cancel (thumb)  
               
Pedal Movements
    Balanced Swell Pedal   Great to Pedal Reversible (thumb)
    Balanced Choir Pedal   Sforzando (thumb & toe, with ind.)
    Balanced Crescendo Pedal (with ind.)    
             
  Müller & Abel organ (c.1897) in St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church - Bronx, N.Y.
Müller & Abel
New York City – Opus 7 (1897)
Tubular-pneumatic action
2 manuals



The first organ for the edifice on Fulton Avenue was built by Müller & Abel of New York City. It seems likely that this organ was contemporary with the opening of the building in 1897. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
               
Sources:
     Haberstroh, Richard. The German Churches of Metropolitan New York: A Research Guide. New York: The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, 2000.
     Kinzey, Allen. Electronic correspondence (Dec. 16, 2010) concerning restoration of Skinner Organ Co. organ, Op. 695 (1928) for St. Mark Lutheran Church, Marion, Iowa. Courtesy Jeff Scofield.
     Kinzey, Allen, and Sand Lawn, comps. E.M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner Opus List. New Rev. Ed. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.
     Minutes (Jan. 11, 2011) of Synod Council of the Metropolitan New York Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Approval to sell (for $45,000) Skinner Organ Co. organ, Op. 695 (1928) to St. Mark Lutheran Church of Marion, Iowa.
     Organ Historical Society Archives (Princeton, N.J.). Factory Specification (Feb. 27, 1928) of Skinner Organ Co. organ, Op. 695. Courtesy Bynum Petty, Archivist.

Illustrations:
     New York Big Apple Images (photo © Matthew X. Kiernan). Exterior. Used by permission.
     Organ Historical Society Archives (Princeton, N.J.). Müller & Abel organ (c.1897); two case designs of Skinner Organ Co. organ, Op. 695 (1928). Courtesy Bynum Petty, Archivist.