Second United Presbyterian Church


141 Audubon Avenue at 172nd Street
New York, N.Y. 10032


Organ Specifications:
432 West 44th Street (c.1925-1944) – orig. Seventh Assoc. Presb.; became Actors Studio (1955)
• J.H. & C.S. Odell, Op. 57 (1867)
141 Audubon Avenue at 172nd Street (c.1916-c.1955)
► II/16 George Jardine & Son (c.1894)
123 West 12th Street (?-c.1916)
► II/13 William H. Davis (1907)


The Second United Presbyterian Church seems to have been organized about 1907, when an organ was purchased by that society for their first building, the former First Reformed Presbyterian Church. Located at 119-125 West 12th Street in Greenwich Village, the Greek temple-style church had been built in 1849 for a congregation founded in 1797.
           
George Jardine & Son
New York City (c.1894)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 16 stops, 16 ranks


The following specification was recorded on Jan. 21, 1921, by an employee of Louis F. Mohr & Co., a longtime organ service firm in the area. It was noted that the two manuals had 58 notes each, and there were 27 notes in the Pedal; the wind pressure was 2-3/4". Also noted on the sheet is "now 1. Span Pres 9-30-57".
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes
16
  Open Diapason
58
4
   Principal
58
8
  Open Diapason [Bass]
12
4
   Flute Harmonic
58
8
  Melody Diapason [Treble]
46
3
   Nazard
58
8
   Clariana
58
2
   Piccolo
58
8
   Doppel Flute
58
8
   Violon [Melodia]
58

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes, enclosed
8
  Open Diapason
58
2
   Flageolet
58
8
  Viol di Gamba
58
8
   Bassoon [Bass]
12
8
  Stopped Flute
58
8
  Trumpet [Treble]
46
4
  Violina
58
        

     

     
Pedal Organ – 27 notes
16
   Open Diapason
27
       
               
Couplers &c
    Swell to Great   Tremolo
    Swell to Pedal   Bellows signal
    Great to Pedal    
    2 Combination pedals on Great    
           
Organ in previous church at 123 West 12th Street:

William H. Davis
New York City (1907)
Tubular-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 16 stops, 13 ranks


The following specification was recorded by an employee of Louis F. Mohr & Co., a longtime organ service concern in the area. The handwritten sheet notes there were 33 display pipes decorated in buff and gold: 9 pipes in two side flats, with 15 pipes in the center. All pipes were in a recess, contained in a light oak case that measured 6' 11" deep by 15' 0" wide; the sides were 13' 6" high and the center pipe was 17' 9" tall. Mohr noted that the floor of the console was four feet lower than the floor of the organ, the left side of the console was 18" to the left of the organ, and the face of the console was 5' 6" in front of the face of the organ. This specification, dated 8/16 (August 1916), coincides with the sale of the building to a developer, so it seems possible that Mohr was measuring the organ prior to its removal. Mohr did not provide pipe counts, but the following are suggested.
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes
8
   Open Diapason
61
4
   Harmonic Flute
61
8
  Gamba
61
4
   Octave
61
8
  Doppel Flute
61
        

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
61
8
   Aeoline
61
8
  Geigen Principal
61
4
   Violina
61
8
  Stopped Diapason
61
8
  Oboe
61

     

     
Pedal Organ – "A.G.O." 30 notes
16
   Bourdon [unit]
42
16
   Violon [unit]
42
10 2/3
  Quint
—
8
   Violoncello
—
8
   Gedeckt
—
        
               
Couplers, etc.
    Swell to Pedal 8'   Swell to Swell 16', 4'
    Great to Pedal 8'   Great to Great 16', 4'
    Swell to Great 8'   Tremulant
         
Combinations
    Swell Pistons: P - F    
    Great Pistons: P - F - 0    
    Sforzando On & Off    
         
Pedal Movements
    Swell Pedal    
    Crescendo Pedal    
           
Sources:
     Dunlap, David. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
     Mohr, Louis F. & Co. Specifications (Aug. 1916) of William H. Davis organ (1907). Courtesy Larry Trupiano.
     Mohr, Louis F. & Co. Specifications (Jan. 21, 1921) of George Jardine & Son organ. Courtesy Larry Trupiano.
     Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.