North Presbyterian Church - New York City (photo: John Rust)
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North Presbyterian Church

529 West 155th Street
New York, N.Y. 10032
Organ Specifications:
529 West 155th Street (since 1904)
► III/38 Unknown
► III/33 Estey Organ Company, Op. 228 (1905)
374 Ninth Avenue at 31st Street (1847-1904)
• II/30 George Jardine & Son (1857)


North Presbyterian Church - New York City (1899 cabinet card)  
Ninth Avenue & 31st Street (1899)  




North Presbyterian Church, founded in 1847, was originally located on Ninth Avenue and 31st Street on the far west side of Manhattan. Beginning in 1903, over 500 buildings in the area (including the church) were demolished to make way for the new Pennsylvania Rail Road Station and its yards. Using the proceeds from the sale of their Ninth Avenue land, the congregation took the opportunity to relocate to Washington Heights.

The present church, located across from Trinity Cemetery on West 155th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway, was designed by Bannister and Schell and dedicated in 1904. At about the same time, the nearby Washington Heights Presbyterian Church, on the corner of 155th Street and Amsterdam, merged into North Presbyterian Church.  
             
Unknown Builder
Electro-pneumatic action?
3 manuals, 42 stops, ~38 ranks



At an unknown time, an unknown builder revised the 1905 Estey organ. The following specifications were recorded (May 1994) by John Klauder, an organbuilder of New York City, who was called to look at an inoperative blower that he subsequently replaced. The Choir division had a separate blower that was adequate. Klauder noted that there was a Choir Division, but did not list the stops. Subsequent visits were for emergencies only (ciphers, replace fuses, etc.). File photos showed an interior that was in disarray with Vox Humana pipes piled in a corner, offset bass chests with no pipes, etc.

The status of this organ is unknown.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes
8
   Open Diapason
4
  Harmonic Flute
8
  Rohr Flute
2
   Fifteenth
8
  Clarabella
  Fourniture III ranks
8
  Gamba
8
   Trumpet
4
   Octave
   

 

     

 

     
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
  Bourdon
4
  Flute Traverso
8
  Open Diapason
2 2/3
  Nazard
8
  Gedeckt
2
   Flautino
8
  Viole d'Gamba
  Plein Jeu III
8
  Voix Celeste
8
  Trompette
8
  Aeoline
8
   Vox Humana
4
   Octave
   

     

     
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed [stops may have been revised]
16
  Lieblich Gedackt
4
  Flute d'Amour  
8
  Violin Diapason
2
  Piccolo  
8
  Viol d'Orchestre
8
  Clarionet  
8
   Concert Flute
     
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
  Principal
8
   Still Gedeckt
SW
16
   Open Diapason
5 1/3
  Quinte
16
   Bourdon
4
   Choral Basse
16
   Echo Bourdon
SW
4
   Bourdon
16
   Dulciana
2 2/3
  Octave Quint
8
   Principal
2
   Octavin
8
   Bourdon
     
               
Couplers
    Great to Pedal 8', 4'   Swell to Choir 16', 8', 4'
    Swell to Pedal 8', 4'   Great 16', 4'
    Choir to Pedal 8', 4'   Swell 16', Unison Off, 4'
    Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'   Choir 16', Unison Off, 4'
   
Choir to Great 16', 8', 4'
     
               
  Estey Organ, Op. 228 (1905) in North Presbyterian Church - New York City
Estey Organ Company
Brattleboro, Vt. – Opus 228 (1905)
Tubular-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 32 stops, 33 ranks








For the new North Presbyterian Church, a three-manual organ was built in 1905 by the Estey Organ Company with specifications drawn up by William C. Carl of First Presbyterian Church. The organ had "tubular exhaust pneumatic action throughout, with separate stop chests, operated by the Haskell pneumatic stop-key action," and was constructed under the personal supervision of Mr. William E. Haskell. Estey provided a detached console "for better control of the choir," that was placed on the choir platform. All of the pipes were installed behind a case to the left of the pulpit platform, although there was a matching case on the right side for symmetry. The Music Trade Review (1905:41:22) reported that "There is not a single borrowed or augmented stop on the organ. All basses are full length."
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes
16
  Double Diapason
61
4
  Octave
61
8
  Open Diapason
61
4
  Flute Harmonic
61
8
  Gamba
61
2
  Fifteenth
61
8
  Clarabella
61
8
   Trumpet
61
8
  Doppel Flöte
61
   

 

     

 

     
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
  Bourdon
61
4
  Flauto Traverso
61
8
  Open Diapason
61
2
  Flautino
61
8
  Stopped Diapason
61
  Cornet III ranks
183
8
  Salicional
61
8
  Cornopean
61
8
  Vox Celestis [TC]
49
8
  Oboe
61
8
  Aeoline
61
8
   Vox Humana
61

     

     
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
  Lieblich Gedackt
61
4
  Flute d'Amour
61
8
  Violin Diapason
61
2
  Piccolo
61
8
  Viol d'Orchestre
61
8
  Clarionet
61
8
   Concert Flute
61
   
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
  Open Diapason
32
16
  Dulciana
32
16
  Bourdon
32
8
  Flute
32
               
Couplers
    "10 Couplers"          
               
Combinations
    "11 Combination Pistons and Pedals"      
               
Pedal Movements
    Balanced Swell Pedal      
    Balanced Choir Pedal      
    Crescendo Pedal      
               
Organ in church located at 374 Ninth Avenue and 31st Street:

George Jardine & Son
New York City (1857)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 30 stops


The American Musical Directory of 1861 shows that this organ had "2 banks keys, 30 stops, 2 octaves pedals" and was "Built by Jardine & Son, in 1857." Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.   
               
Sources:
     American Musical Directory. New York: Thomas Hutchinson, 1861.
     The Estey Pipe Organ web site: www.esteyorgan.com
     Klauder, John. Stoplist of the organ in May 1994. Courtesy Barry Kloda.
     "Largest Estey Organ in New York," The Music Trade Review (Vol. 41, No. 22, 1905). Stoplist of Estey Organ, Op. 288 (1905).
     The New Music Review (1904):117. Stoplist of Estey Organ, Op. 288 (1905). Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.
     Ochse, Orpha. "A Glimpse of the 1860s," The American Organist (Nov. 1969).

Illustrations:
     Cabinet card (1899) of first church building. Collection of the Museum of the City of New York.
     Estey Organ Company. Interior showing Estey Organ, Op. 288 (1905). Courtesy Larry Trupiano.
     Rust, John. Exterior.