Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church - New York City (photo: Steven E. Lawson)
 
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Good Shepherd–Faith Presbyterian Church

152 West 66th Street
New York, N.Y. 10023









Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church, located on Sixty-sixth Street just west of Broadway, is a survivor of the 1960s urban renewal project that cleared the site for Lincoln Center by demolishing blocks of tenements and factories. Designed in 1887 by J. Cleveland Cady, noted architect of many churches and buildings (including the old Metropolitan Opera House at 39th Street and Broadway), the simple Italian Romanesque church was opened in 1893 for the working class neighborhood. The facade, composed of yellow and cream brick with matching terra cotta ornamentation, includes an inset arch over the main entrance, with three round windows; the largest window, the rose, is above the entrance. Inside, the ceiling is supported by trusses, and the wide nave has modest wooden wainscoting, stained glass, and urn-shaped hanging lamps.

In 1920 a merger took place with the Faith Presbyterian Church, organized in 1883 and located at 359 West 48th Street, and the combined congregation was renamed Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church. Over the years, the congregation has adapted to changing demographics that included Italian, Irish, Scottish, Puerto Rican and Afro-American residents. It has also been home to the Korean Central Church, and the Catholic Apostolic Parroquía de Espíritu Santo y de Neustra Señora de la Caridad.

Due in part to its proximity to Lincoln Center, the church has served as an intimate concert venue since the 1960s.
               
  Geo. S. Hutchings organ, Op. 309 (1893) in Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church - New York City (photo: Brian Preston Harlow)
George S. Hutchings
Boston, Mass. – Opus 309 (1893)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 17 stops, 17 ranks




The organ was built in 1893 by George S. Hutchings of Boston. Hutchings installed the organ behind a case located on the right side of the auditorium. An employee of Louis F. Mohr & Co., an organ service firm in the area, recorded the following specifications in April 1929. Mohr later notes that the Vox Humana, a later addition, was on electric action that used 8 Red Seal batteries. In 1942, Mohr put in a transformer but notes the stop uses A.C. current so [the] magnets are noisy.
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes
8
  Open Diapason
61
3
  Octave Quinte
61
8
  Dolcissimo
61
2
  Super Octave
61
8
  Melodia
61
8
  Trumpet
61
4
  Octave
61
        
               
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon Bass
12
4
   Flute Harmonic
61
16
   Bourdon Treble
49
4
   Violina
61
8
   Violin Diapason
61
8
   Oboe
61
8
   Salicional
61
8
   Vox Humana *
61
8
   Stopped Diapason
61
    
* later addition on electric action
               
Pedal Organ – 27 notes
16
  Bourdon
27
        
8
  Floete
27
        
               
Couplers
    Great to Pedal       Swell to Great  
    Swell to Pedal       Great to Octave  
               
Mechanicals and Accessories
    2 Combinations on Great   Tremolo
    2 Combinations on Swell   Swell Pedal
    Great to Pedal Reversible          
           
Sources:
     Dunlap, David. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
     Gray, Chrisopher. "Streetscapes: A Survivor of the Demolition That Led to Lincoln Center," The New York Times (Dec. 19, 2004).
     Mohr, Louis F. & Co. Specifications (April 1929) of George S. Hutchings organ, Op. 309 (1893). Courtesy Larry Trupiano.
     Organ Historical Society Archives. Stoplist of George S. Hutchings organ, Op. 309 (1893). Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.
     "Sole Lincoln Sq. Church Widens Role for Its Mixed Congregation," The New York Times (Dec. 14, 1959).

Illustrations:
     Harlow, Brian Preston. Case of George S. Hutchings organ, Op. 309 (1893).
     Lawson, Steven E. Exterior.