Click on most images to enlarge German Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Paul (Deutsche Evangelisch-Lutherishe St.-Pauls-Kirche) 315 West 22nd Street New York, N.Y. 10011 http://www.stpaulny.org Organ Specifications: 315 West 22nd Street (since 1898): ► II/29 George Jardine & Son, Op. 1246 (1897); reb. (1994) 220 Sixth Avenue at 15th Street (1842-1898) Second building (1861-1898) • Ferris & Stuart (c.1861) • II/ J.H. & C.S. Odell, Op. 4 (1860) First building (1842-1860) • II/24 Ferris & Stuart (1849)   First Building (1842-1860)   Until the 1840s, German Lutherans worshiped at St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran Church, which was chartered in 1664 and located on Walker Street in lower Manhattan. As more German-speaking immigrants arrived in New York City, St. Matthew's was holding three services each Sunday to accomodate the growing numbers. On August 15, 1841, a group from St. Matthew's met in Hall No. 148 on 8th Avenue and founded St. Paul's German Evangelical Lutheran Church. Slightly more than a year later, on October 17, 1842, the new St. Paul's congregation laid the cornerstone for its first church and school, located at the corner of 6th Avenue and 15th Street, that was opened to the public on Christmas of the same year. Membership increased rapidly as large numbers of Germans immigrated to the city, and after 18 years a larger church was needed. After its last service on May 6, 1860, the original building was demolished to make room for a new and impressive edifice on the same site. The second church, which opened on March 20-21, 1861, was built in the Romanesque style and could accomodate nearly 1,000 people on the main floor and in its three galleries. An organ by Ferris & Stuart was installed in the rear gallery. In 1878, the Sixth Avenue elevated train was opened, with a station located only a block away at Sixth Avenue and 14th Street. The El's steam-powered locomotives showered ash and soot from their lofty tracks, and the noise became intolerable. This fast-growing area of the city was transformed into a shopping district later known as "The Ladies' Mile," due to the proliferation of large department stores, speciality shops, concert halls and showrooms. After several years amid the increasingly busy area, church officials began to search for a new location. In 1897, a tract was purchased on West 22nd Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues. The German architect, Francis A. Minuth, was commissioned to design the third and present building. On July 4, 1897, the cornerstone was laid, and only seven months later, on February 13, 1898, the church was officially opened – debt free! Built in the neo-Gothic style, the symmetrical limestone facade features two towers. The vaulted interior includes galleries on three sides, an apse with five windows by Mayer & Co. of Munich, Germany, and wooden furnishings by Semmann Wagerin & Co. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Throughout its history, St. Paul's Church has been the spiritual and social home to many immigrants from Germany. In 1941, after Germany declared war on the United States, the church was not allowed to publish its newsletter in German and many members were interned until 1947. For many church members the war years were made more difficult because theirs sons had become Americans and were fighting against the Nazis while in the U.S. Army, and all Germans in the USA were treated with suspicion. Following the war, St. Paul's became a center of information about Germany, and members donated clothing and money to fight the misery and hunger in post-war Germany. Today, St. Paul's membership includes many Germans who work for companies, embassies or schools. To help meet the needs of these "expatriates," the EKD (Evangelical Church in Germany) sends a pastor to New York. Services and programs at St. Paul's are conducted in German.
George Jardine & Son New York City – Opus 1246 (1897) Mechanical key and stop action Electric pedal action (1994) 2 manuals, 26 stops, 29 ranks On July 8, 1897, a contract was signed by St. Paul's Lutheran Church and the New York City organbuilding firm of Jardine & Son for a new organ costing $3,140. The two-manual mechanical-action organ has 27 registers totalling 29 ranks, and a stencilled facade that includes pipes of the Great Double Open Diapason. An attached keydesk with terraced stop jambs controls the instrument, aided by seven combination pedals and a balanced Swell pedal. Jardine also provided a double-draw stopknob in the Swell for the 8' Voix Celeste: when the knob is partially pulled, only the sharp (celeste) rank is activated, but when the knob is fully pulled, a pneumatic action engages the unison (8' Viole d'Orchestre) rank, which is perhaps inconveniently located on the row below. In 1994, after nearly a century of use, the church engaged James A. Konzelman Organs, then located in Maplewood, NJ, to repair and rebuild the organ. In addition to releathering and cleaning, several alterations and enhancements were requested by the organist at the time, namely: 1) the Swell 8' Aeoline was replaced by the original Great 2' Piccolo; 2) the Great 2' Piccolo in turn was replaced by a new 2' Principal; and 3) the Great 8' Open Diapason, which had been greatly softened over the years, was replaced with new pipes. The Swell 3-rank Dolce Cornet, which strangely did not contain the usual tierce (1-3/5') rank and was identical in pitch to the 3-rank Great Mixture, was recomposed as a chorus mixture. Finally, an electric action was added to control the three Pedal stops.                 Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes 16   Double Open Diapason 61 4   Flute Harmonic 61 8   Open Diapason 61 4   Principal 61 8   Gamba 61 3   Octave Quint 61 8   Melodia 61 2   Piccolo [rep. by Principal 2'] 61 8   Dulciana 61     Mixture 3 ranks 183 8   Doppel Flute 61 8   Trumpet 61                 Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed 16   Bourdon bass 12   Dolce Cornet 3 ranks ** 183 16   Bourdon treble [TC] 49 8   Cornopean 61 8   Open Diapason 61 8   Bassoon [bass] 12 8   Stopped Diapason 61 8   Oboe [TC] 49 8   Viole d'Orchestre 61   Tremolo   8   Voix Celeste [TC] * 49   Blowers Signal   8   Aeoline [rep. by GT Piccolo 2'] 61   * double-draw engages VDO 4   Violina 61   ** recomposed                 Pedal Organ – 30 notes (played by electric action) 16   Open Diapason 30 8   Violoncello 30 16   Bourdon 30                         Couplers (stopknobs above top manual)     Swell to Great               Great to Pedal               Swell to Pedal                           Combination Pedals 1.   Swell Piano +   5.   Great Piano   2.   Swell Mezzo Forte +   6.   Great Mezzo Forte   3.   Swell Forte +   7.   Great Full   4.   Swell Full +       + disconnected/uncertain
M.P. Möller, Inc. Hagerstown, Md. – Opus 4752 (1926) Electro-pneumatic action 2 manuals, 20 registers, 10 stops, 6 ranks This organ may have been installed in the Sunday School room on the ground floor. The organ had a two-manual stop-key quartered oak console, gold bronze decorations, and a wind pressure of 5 inches.                 Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed 8   Open Diapason 61 4   Flute Traverso 61 8   Stopped Diapason 61   1 blank tablet for future addition 8   Dulciana 61                         Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed 8   Gedeckt [Stopped Diapason] GT 8   Dulciana GT 4   Flute [Traverso] GT 8   Vox Celeste [TC] 49                 Pedal Organ – 32 notes 16   Bourdon 32         16   Lieblich Gedeckt [lo-press.] —                       Couplers     Great to Pedal       Great 16', 4'       Swell to Pedal       Swell 16', 4'       Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'                           Mechanicals     Tremulant               Crescendo Indicator                           Adjustable Combinations     Pistons No. 1-2 affecting Great and Pedal Stops     Pistons No. 1-2 affecting Swell and Pedal Stops                 Pedal Movements     Great to Pedal Reversible           Balanced Swell Pedal           Grand Crescendo Pedal
Organ in second church building, located at 220 Sixth Avenue corner 15th Street: Ferris & Stuart New York City (ca. 1861) Mechanical action Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
J.H. & C.S. Odell New York City – Opus 4 (1860) Mechanical action 2 manuals Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
Organ in church located at 220 Sixth Avenue corner 15th Street: Ferris & Stuart New York City (1850) Mechanical action 2 manuals, 24 stops The first known organ for St. Paul Lutheran was built in 1849 by Ferris & Stuart of New York City. According to the American Musical Directory of 1861, the organ had "2 banks keys, 24 stops, 2 octaves pedals" and was "Built by L. U. Stuart, in 1850." Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
Sources:      American Musical Directory. New York: Thomas Hutchinson, 1861.      Dunlap, David. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.      Haberstroh, Richard. The German Churches of Metropolitan New York: A Research Guide. New York: The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, 2000.      Ochse, Orpha. "A Glimpse of the 1860s," The American Organist (November 1969).      "Renovation Plan 2006-2010" booklet, published by St. Paul's German Evangelical Lutheran Church.      St. Paul's German Evangelical Lutheran Church web site: www.stpaulny.org Illustrations:      The German Churches of Metropolitan New York: A Research Guide. New York: The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, 2000. Drawing of 1862 church.      Lawson, Steven E. Exterior; interior; George Jardine & Son organ, Op. 1246 (1897).
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