Mount Moriah Baptist Church - New York City
 
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Mount Moriah Baptist Church

2050 Fifth Avenue at 126th Street
New York, N.Y. 10035


Organ Specifications:
2050 Fifth Avenue at 126th Street (since 1935)
► III/30 E. & G.G. Hook & Hastings, Op. 668 (1872)
45 West 134 Street (1901-1935) – orig. Mercy Seat Baptist Church
• unknown





Mount Moriah Baptist Church, a black congregation organizeed in 1901, held its first services in the former Mercy Seat Baptist Church, at 45 West 134th Street. In 1935, the congregation acquired the former Mount Morris Baptist Church, on Fifth Avenue at 126th Street. Designed by Henry F. Kilburn and built in 1887-88, the Romanesque building is on a site previously owned by the First Baptist Church of Harlem.
           
  E. & G.G. Hook & Hastings Organ, Op. 668 (1872) at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church - New York City (photo: John Bishop, Organ Clearing House)
E. & G.G. Hook & Hastings
Boston, Mass. – Opus 668 (1872)
Mechanical key and stop action
Pneumatic couplers for each manual
3 manuals, 36 registers, 28 stops, 30 ranks







The E. & G.G. Hook & Hastings organ in Mount Moriah Baptist Church was originally built in 1872 for the many-towered Church of the Disciples, a Congregational Church located on the corner of Madison Avenue and 45th Street, which was demolished when the present Grand Central Terminal was constructed. Around 1900, the organ was rebuilt by Hook & Hastings, perhaps when the organ was relocated to Mount Morris Baptist Church. The organ has been unplayable for many years. In 2005, Mt. Moriah made plans to remodel its interior, and in April 2006 sold the organ for $5000 to The First Baptist Church of Jamaica Plain, Mass., which had lost its E. & G.G. Hook organ (Op. 253, 1859) in a January 2005 fire.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes
16
   Open Diapason
58
4
   Octave
58
8
   Open Diapason
58
3
   Twelfth
58
8
   Viola da Gamba
58
2
   Fifteenth
58
8
   Gemshorn
58
     Mixture 3 ranks
174
8
   Doppel Flöte
58
8
   Trumpet
58
 
      
 
      
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 58 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
58
4
   Flauto Traverso
58
8
   Open Diapason
58
2
   Flautino
58
8
   Stopped Diapason
58
8
   Cornopean
58
8
   Viola
58
8
   Oboe
58
4
   Violina
58
        
               
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes
8
   Geigen Principal
58
4
   Flute d'Amour
58
8
   Dulciana
58
2
   Piccolo
58
8
   Melodia
58
8
   Clarinet
58
 
      
 
      
Pedale Organ – 27 notes
16
   Open Diapason
27
8
   Violoncello
27
16
   Bourdon
27
        
               
Couplers and Accessories
    Great to Pedal   Swell Tremolo
    Swell to Pedal    
    Choir to Pedal   Bellows Signal
    Swell to Great    
               
Mechanical Registers (pneumatic powered, thumb-pistons under top manual)
    Man I / Pneumatic Coupler      
    Man II / Pneumatic Coupler      
    Man III / Pneumatic Coupler      
               
Pedal Movements
    Swell Piano   Great to Pedal Reversible
    Swell Forte   Balanced Swell Pedal
    Great Piano    
    Great Forte    
               
  E. & G.G. Hook & Hastings Organ, Op. 668 (1872) at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church - New York City (photo: John Bishop, Organ Clearing House)
     
E. & G.G. Hook & Hastings Organ, Op. 668 (1872) at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church - New York City (photo: John Bishop, Organ Clearing House)   E. & G.G. Hook & Hastings Organ, Op. 668 (1872) at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church - New York City (photo: John Bishop, Organ Clearing House)
 
Church of the Disciples, ca. 1875 - New York City
Church of the Disciples (c. 1875)
Op. 668's original home.
 
         
Sources:
     Black, Mary. Old New York in Early Photographs. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1973.
     Dunlap, David. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
     O'Brien, Keith. "Almost an organ donation: Instrument is a heck of a deal," The Boston Globe, April 30, 2006.
     Organ Clearing House web site: www.organclearinghouse.com
     Van Pelt, William T., compiler. The Hook Opus List, 1829-1916 in Facsimile. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1991.

Illustrations:
     Organ Clearing House web site. Photos of E. & G.G. Hook & Hastings Organ, Op. 668 (1872). Used with permission.