St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church - East Elmhurst (Queens), N.Y.


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Church of St. Patrick
(Roman Catholic)

39-38 29th Street at 40th Avenue
Long Island City (Queens), N.Y. 11101

Organ Specifications:
39-38 29th Street at 40th Avenue (since 1870)
Present building (since 1898)
► III/19 Kilgen Organ Company (1953)
► III/46reg M.P. Möller, Op. 3596 (1923) – Upper Church
► II/3 Geo. Kilgen & Son, Op. 3855 (1920) – Lower Church
• unknown (1904) – Upper Church
• unknown (1898) – Lower Church
FIrst building (1870-burned 1887)
• unknown
Henry and Williams Streets (1868-1870)
• unknown

The parish of St. Patrick at Dutch Kills was founded in 1868, by the Rev. Theodore Goetz, pastor of St. Raphael's Church, Laurel Hill, near Blissville, as a mission of Laurel Hill. The original church, a frame building 25 feet by 60 feet, was located at the corner of Henry and Williams Streets. In 1870, this church was moved to Crescent Street (now 29th Street), between Wilbur and Paynter Avenues, and the building was enlarged with an addition that made the church cruciform in shape. Bishop Loughlin dedicated the church. The church was partly destroyed by fire in the fall of 1887.


Postcard of church (1915)

Construction of the present church was begun in the spring of 1898, and on September 15th of that year the cornerstone was laid by Bishop McDonnell. A year later, on September 9, 1899, the basement church was dedicated by Bishop McDonnell. The adjacent four-story rectory, built at a cost of $12,000, was completed and occupied on March 17, 1901. Under the leadership of the Rev. Edward F. Hannigan, pastor since 1902, the debt of the church was reduced by $10,000 and work began toward the completion of the church. Considerable progress had been made by March 1904, when on the night of March 4th, a fire originating in a switchboard under the stairs broke out in the rectory. Tragically, the Rev. Father Herman J. Ernst, assistant pastor, and two women domestics who occupied a room on the fourth floor, died in the blaze that gutted the rectory. Father Hannigan, who was very ill with pneumonia and unable to help himself, was rescued with great difficulty from his second floor room. A third priest, Father James Kearney, jumped from his room on the third floor when it became engulfed with flames. After several months of recuperation at St. John's Hospital, Father Hannigan renewed efforts on finishing the church, and on November 6, 1904, the church was completed and dedicated by Bishop McDonnell. At the time, it was the only Roman Catholic church on Long Island with a steel structure and, according to Father Hannigan, "was as near fireproof as a church could be made." Built at a cost of $60,000 and seating 700 people, the Romanesque-style building was of brick with terra-cotta trimming; the two towers were never completed. At a later time, the brick-faced exterior was covered with stucco and the terra-cotta was painted.

Kilgen Organ Company
St. Louis, Mo. – Opus 7648 (1953)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 27 stops, 19 ranks

The organ in St. Patrick's Church was built in 1953 by the Kilgen Organ Company of St. Louis. It is installed in the gallery behind twin wooden cases that are ornamented with shamrock cutouts. Known briefly as E.R. Kilgen, the Kilgen Organ Company existed from 1939 until 1960, and was one of the two rival ‘Kilgen’ firms formed after the liquidation in 1939 of the George Kilgen & Son firm of St. Louis.

Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed

Diapason

2 2/3

Twelfth

—

Hohl Flute

Super Octave

—

Gemshorn

Chimes [Mayland]

Octave [unit]

Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed

Geigen Prinzipal

Plein Jeu III ranks

183

Rohr Flute [unit]

Trompette

Viole de Gambe

Vox Humana

Viole Celeste [TC]

Tremolo

Flute Harmonique

—

Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed

Concert Flute

Fern Flute

Dulciana

2 2/3

Nasat [Fern Fl.]

—

Unda Maris

Tremolo

Pedal Organ – 32 notes

Major Bass [unit]

Bass Flute [Bourdon]

—

Bourdon [unit]

Rohr Flute

Rohr Bourdon [ext. SW]

Block Flute [Bourdon]

—

Octave [Major Bass]

—

Trumpet

Couplers

Great to Pedal 8', 4'

Swell to Choir 16', 8', 4'

Swell to Pedal 8', 4'

Great 16', Unison Off, 4'

Choir to Pedal 8'

Swell 16', Unison Off, 4'

Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'

Choir 16', Unison Off, 4'

Choir to Great 16', 8', 4'

Adjustable Combinations (hold and set)

Great and Pedal	Pistons No. 1-2-3-4-5 (thumb)
Swell and Pedal	Pistons No. 1-2-3-4-5 (thumb)
Choir and Pedal	Pistons No. 1-2-3-4-5 (thumb)
Full Organ	Pistons No. 1-2-3-4-5-0 (thumb)

Pedal Movements

Great & Choir Expression Pedal

Great to Pedal Reversible

Swell Expression Pedal

Sforzando

Crescendo Pedal

M.P. Möller, Inc. Hagerstown, Md. – Opus 3596 (1923) Unknown action 3 manuals, 46 registers The M.P. Möller Memorandum of Agreement (Feb. 3, 1923) shows that Möller would move the "Old organ out of Clinton Ave. Congl. Ch., Brooklyn, N.Y." to St. Patrick's R.C. Church, Long Island City, at a total cost of $5,000. For the new edifice built by Clinton Avenue Congregational Church, M.P. Möller built a new instrument (Op. 3579) with three manuals and 31 ranks. The "old organ" was Hilborne L. Roosevelt's Op. 293, a three-manual, 39-rank instrument built in 1885. It is not known if Möller altered the Roosevelt organ, but following are the original specifications, as recorded by F.R. Webber (1887-1963) in one of his "Organ Scrapbooks" that are in the possession of American Organ Archives of the Organ Historical Society in Princeton, N.J. Hilborne L. Roosevelt New York City – Opus 293 (1885) Tubular-pneumatic action 3 manuals, 34 stops, 39 ranks

Great Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes, partially enclosed
16	Double Open Diapason	58	2 2/3	Octave Quint *	58
8	Open Diapason	58	2	Super Octave *	58
8	Viola di Gamba	58		Mixture, 3 & 4 ranks *	196
8	Doppel Flöte	58	8	Trumpet *	58
4	Octave	58
4	Flute Harmonique	58		* stops enclosed in Choir box

Swell Organ (Manual III) – 58 notes, enclosed
16	Bourdon	58	4	Hohl Flöte	58
8	Open Diapason	58		Cornet, 3 ranks	174
8	Salicional	58	8	Cornopean	58
8	Dolce	58	8	Oboe	58
8	Vox Celeste	58	8	Vox Humana	58
8	Stopped Diapason	58		Tremulant
4	Octave	58

Choir Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes, enclosed
8	Open Diapason	58	4	Gemshorn	58
8	Keraulophon	58	4	Flute d'Amour	58
8	Dulciana	58	2	Piccolo Harmonique	58
8	Melodia	58	8	Clarinet	58

Pedal Organ – 30 notes
16	Open Diapason	30	16	Bourdon	30
16	Gamba	30	8	Violoncello	30

Couplers ("On" and "Off" thumb pistons under manual affected)
	Swell to Great			Swell to Pedal
	Swell to Great Octaves			Great to Pedal
	Choir to Great			Choir to Pedal
	Swell to Choir

Pedal Movements
	Two adjustable combination pedals, affecting but not moving Great stops
	Two adjustable combination pedals, affecting but not moving Swell and Pedal stops
	Great to Pedal Reversible
	Balanced Swell Pedal
	Balanced Choir Pedal

Organ in the Lower Church:

Geo. Kilgen & Son
St. Louis, Mo. – Opus 3855 (1920)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 20 stops, 3 ranks

The organ in the Lower Church was built in 1920 by Geo. Kilgen & Son of St. Louis. In 1970, the organ was moved to the lower church of St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Richmond Hill, Queens, at which time the organ was revised with the addition of two stops in the Swell: a 2-2/3' Nazard and Mixture III ranks. While the original specifications of Op. 3855 have not yet been located, the following stoplist is offered as a likely possibility. The entire organ is enclosed in one swell box, excepting the bottom octave of the 16' Bourdon, which is divided on both sides.

Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed

Bass Flute [TC]

Octave

Open Diapason

Flute

Stopped Flute

Dulcet

Dulciana

Flautina

Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed

Bourdon [TC]

Dulcet? – later 2-2/3' Nazard

Open Diapason

Flageolet

Stopped Diapason

Oboe? (synth.) – later Mixture III ranks

Dolce

General Tremolo

Flute d'Amour

Pedal Organ – 32 notes

Bourdon

Flute

Open Diapason

Dolce

Adjustable Combinations

Great	Pistons 1-2 affecting Great and Pedal stops (thumb)
Swell	Pistons 1-2 affecting Swell and Pedal stops (thumb)

Pedal Movements

Balanced Swell Pedal

Crescendo Pedal

Stop Analysis
		Pipes
16	Gedeckt	97
8	Diapason	73
8	Dulciana	73
	Total	243

Sources:
     The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X, Vol. III. New York: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914.
     "Fireproof Church Dedicated," The Sun (Nov. 7, 1904): 12.
     Kloda, Barry. Specifications of Geo. Kilgen & Son Organ, Op. 3855 (1920); as rev. (1970).
     LaRose, Matt, Stephen Leone, and Richard Melnick. Long Island City, Greater Astoria Historical Society (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2007).
     Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
     "Priest Dies in Fire," The New York Times (Mar. 6, 1904).
     "Priest, Ill, Quits Parish," The New York Times (May 4, 1914).
     Trupiano, Larry. Memorandum of Agreement (Feb. 3, 1923) of M.P. Möller Organ, Op. 3596 (1923).
     Tucci, Michael. Specifications of Kilgen Organ Company organ (1953).
     Webber, F.R. "Organ scrapbook" at Organ Historical Society Archives, Princeton, N.J. Specifications of Hilborne L. Roosevelt organ, Op. 293 (1885). Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.

Illustrations:
     Google Street Image. Exterior of church (2009).
     Mahanor, Tali. Console of Kilgen Organ, Op. 7648 (1953).
     Postcard (1915) of present church building.
     Schmauch, Dave. Facades of Kilgen Organ, Op. 7648 (1953).

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