Bethlehem Swedish Lutheran Church - Brooklyn, N.Y. (1906 Postcard)
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Bethlehem Swedish Lutheran Church

490 Pacific Street at Third Avenue
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11217


Organ Specifications:
490 Pacific Street at Third Avenue (1895-closed 2008):
► III/33 Hook & Hastings Co., Op. 1638 (1894)
Pacific Street between Smith and Hoyt (1880-1895):
• III/28 E. & G.G. Hook – second-hand, installed 1884
             
Hook & Hastings Co.
Boston, Mass. – Opus 1638 (1894)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 28 stops, 33 ranks


The organ in the church building on Pacific Street and Third Avenue was originally built in 1871 by E. & G.G. Hook of Boston for the Music Hall in Providence, R.I. In 1894, the Music Hall was closed and the organ was purchased by Hook & Hastings, successor firm to E. & G.G. Hook. An article in The Organ (April 1894, p. 289) announced that Hook & Hastings "will make it practically as good as new" and sell it for "a very low figure." For its installation in Bethlehem Swedish Lutheran, Hook & Hastings electrified the organ, retaining the 58-note manual compass but increasing the Pedal stops from 27 to 30 notes.

At an unknown date a new console having 61-note keyboards and a 32-note pedalboard was installed by Ralph Clausen of Staten Island.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes
16
   Open Diapason
58
2 2/3
   Twelfth
58
8
   Diapason
58
2
   Fifteenth
58
8
   Doppel Flute (wood)
58
  Mixture IV ranks
232
8
   Gamba (tin)
58
8
   Trumpet
58
4
   Octave
58
   
  Twelfth
58
   

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 58 notes, enclosed
8
   Diapason
58
  Mixture III ranks
174
8
   Gedeckt (wood)
58
8
   Cornopean
58
8
   Salicional
58
8
   Oboe
58
4
   Harmonic Flute
58
8
   Vox Humana
58
4
   Principal
58
  Tremolo  

     

     
Solo Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes
8
   Geigen
58
2
   Piccolo
58
8
   Dulciana
58
8
   Clarinet
58
8
   Melodia (wood)
58
  Tremolo
4
   Flute d'Amour (wood & metal)
58
   

     

     
Pedal Organ – 30 notes
16
   Open Diapason (wood)
30
8
   Violoncello
30
16
   Bourdon (wood)
30
16
   Trombone (wood)
30
               
Couplers (on Ralph Clauson console)
    Swell to Pedal 8', 4'   Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'
    Great to Pedal 8'   Swell to Choir 16', 8', 4'
    Choir to Pedal 8', 4'   Choir to Great 16', 8', 4'
               
Adjustable Combinations (on Ralph Clauson console)
   
Swell Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6
Great Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6
Choir Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6
Pedal Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4
Full Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6
             

Organ in church on Pacific Street between Smith and Hoyt:

E. & G.G. Hook
Boston, Mass. – second-hand; installed 1884
Mechanical action
3 manuals?, 28 stops


The first-known pipe organ in the church building on Pacific Street between Smith and Hoyt was a second-hand instrument built by E. & G.G. Hook of Boston. An article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (May 19, 1884) describes the opening of this organ:

NEW ORGAN CONCERT
At the Swedish Lutheran Bethel Church.
    The worshipers at the Swedish Lutheran Bethel Church, Pacific near Smith street, celebrated the occasion of their newly purchased organ with an opening concert Saturday evening, which proved to be an enjoyable affair. The instrument is a 28 stop double G organ, built by Hook, of Boston, is 20 feet high, 12 feet wide, and very beautifully painted in front in blue and gold. Messrs. Frederick George Richmond and Carll Hallquist officiated at the organ during the evening. The programme was arranged as follows: "David's Psalm, 100" (Wenneberg), finely sung by the church chorus : organ solo (Morandi), Mr. Frederick Richmond; "Naturan och Hjertat" (Lindblad), by a quartet composed of Messrs. C. Aeberg, first tenor; C. Staerbeck, second tenor; C. Challein, first bass; A. P. Sohnson, second bass; "David's Psalm, 1 and 6" (Wenneberg), Miss Esther Rosenblad; organ solo "Offertory in D" (Batiste), Mr. Frederick Richmond; "Brundefarden" (Kjerulf), by Messrs. Aeberg, Staerbeck, Challein and Sohnson: (a.) "Ave Maria," (b.) Improvisation (Scotson Clark), organ solo, by Mr. Carll Hallquist; "Stilla Skuggor," by the chorus; organ solo (Gavotte), Mr. F. G. Richmond.
               
Sources:
     "New Organ Concert," Brooklyn Daily Eagle (May 19, 1884). Courtesy James Lewis.
     The Organ (Vol. 2, April 1894, p. 289). Item about purchase of E. & G.G. Hook organ, Op. 571 (1871) in Music Hall, Providence, R.I. Courtesy Barbara Owen via James Lewis.
     "Organ Scrapbook" in New-York Historical Society. Specification of E. & G.G. Hook organ, Op. 571 (1871). Courtesy Larry Trupiano.
     Trupiano, Larry. Specification of Hook & Hastings organ, Op. 1638 (1894).
     Van Pelt, William T., comp. The Hook Opus List, 1829-1916 in Facsimile. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1991.

Illustrations:
     eBay.com: 1906 Postcard of exterior.
     The Tracker (Vol. 29, #3, 1985). E. & G.G. Hook organ, Op. 571 (1871) in Music Hall, Providence, R.I.