St. Barbara Catholic Church - Brooklyn, N.Y. (Bridge and Tunnel Club)
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St. Barbara Catholic Church

138 Bleecker Street at Central Avenue
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11221


Organ Specifications:
Present building (since 1910)
► III/19 M.P. Möller, Inc., Op. 5948 (1931)
• II/17 Unknown Builder – moved from previous building?
First building (1893-1910)
• Unknown Builder





The Roman Catholic parish of St. Barbara was established in 1893 to serve German immigrants, many of whom worked in the breweries in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn. Bishop McDonnell dedicated the first church on Thanksgiving Day, 1893. It is said that the church was named for Barbara Epping, the wife of local brewer Leopold Epping. Over the years, the congregation has evolved to serve Italians and now Latin Americans who have displaced the original German population in the neighborhood.

St. Barbara Roman Catholic Church - Bushwick, Brooklyn, N.Y. (photo: Devvon Simpson)  
Ground was broken in 1907 for the present church, designed in the Spanish Baroque style by Helmle & Huberty, and the church was opened in 1910. Noted for its 175-foot high cream-colored spires — which the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects has described as "wedding-cake icing: edible" — the elaborate exterior includes a beautiful dome. Inside, the church interior is filled with statuary, carvings, frescoes and more than 25 stained glass windows.
             
M.P. Möller, Inc.
Hagerstown, Md. – Opus 5948 (1931)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 67 registers, 35 stops, 19 ranks


The organ at St. Barbara's Church was installed by M.P. Möller in 1931. A detached drawknob console controls the four divisions, all of which are enclosed in swell boxes. About 1972, around the time that the neighborhood was ravaged by fires and in serious decline, the organ began to falter and eventually became unusable. In 1982, Father Edmund Brady determined that repairing the organ would mean a great deal to the congregation and would be a symbol of things getting better for the church and neighborhood. With the support of donations from the Brooklyn Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, John Tully was engaged to begin repairs on the organ.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed with Choir
8
  Open Diapason
61
4
  Octave [ext.]
—
8
  Doppel Floete
73
4
  Flute Harmonic [ext.]
—
8
  Melodia
73
8
   Tuba
61
8
   Dulciana
73
     Tremulant
8
   Viole d'Gamba
73
    
Chimes
21 bells
               
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon [unit]
97
4
   Salicet
—
8
   Open Diapason
73
2 2/3
   Flute Twelfth
—
8
   Viole d'Orchestre
73
2
   Flautina
—
8
   Salicional
73
8
   Oboe
73
8
   Vox Celeste [TC]
61
8
   Vox Humana
73
8
   Gedeckt
—
     Tremulant  
4
   Orchestral Flute
—
        
               
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed with Great
8
   English Open Diapason
73
8
   Viole d'Gamba
GT
8
   Flute Harmonic
73
4
   Flute Traverso [Melodia]
GT
8
   Doppel Floete
GT
8
   Clarinet
61
8
   Dulciana
GT
     Tremulant  
8
   Unda Maris [TC]
61
     Chimes
GT
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
32
  Resultant [O. Diap. + Bdn.]
—
8
  Octave [ext.]
—
16
  Open Diapason
44
8
   Flute [ext.]
—
16
   Bourdon
44
8
   Violoncello [V.d'Gamba]
GT
16
   Lieblich Gedeckt
SW
        
               
Couplers (Stop keys above top manual)
    Great to Pedal 8', 4'   Great to Great 16', 4'
    Swell to Pedal 8', 4'   Swell to Swell 16', 4'
    Choir to Pedal 8'   Choir to Choir 16', 4'
    Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'   Great Unison Separation *
    Choir to Great 16', 8', 4'   Swell Unison Separation *
    Choir to Swell 16', 8', 4'   Choir Unison Separation *
    Swell to Choir 16', 8', 4'  
* located in jambs
               
Adjustable Combinations
   
Great Organ Pistons No. 1-2-3-4-5 (thumb)
Swell Organ Pistons No. 1-2-3-4-5 (thumb)
Choir Organ Pistons No. 1-2-3-4-5 (thumb)
Pedal Organ Pistons No. 1-2-3-4-5 (thumb)
Full Organ Pistons No. 1-2-3-4-5 (thumb)
  General Cancel (thumb)
               
Pedal Movements
    Balanced Expression Pedal, Swell Organ   Great to Pedal Reversible
    Balanced Expression Pedal, Great-Choir Organ   Sforzando Pedal and Manual Piston
    Grand Crescendo Pedal    
           
Unknown Builder
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 17 stops


The first-known organ in the present building had two manuals and 17 stops. It seems likely that this organ was moved from the previous church. The ledgers of Reuben Midmer & Sons, organbuilders in Brooklyn, show that the firm installed an electric blower on this organ.
           
Organ in first church building:

Unknown Builder
Mechanical action


It is not known who built the organ in the first church building, but the Brooklyn Eagle (Oct. 7, 1902) reported that it was the gift of Brooklyn millionaire George P. Pope, president of the Manhattan Enamel Brick Company and a generous benefactor of Catholic organizations. Specifications of this organ have not yet been located.
             
Sources:
     "Among the Catholic Parishes," The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Nov. 26, 1893).
     "Bestowed by the Pope," Brooklyn Eagle (Oct. 7, 1902).
     Cox, Paul. "Brooklyn Baroque: Inside St. Barbara's," The Bushwick News/BrooklynBK (Apr. 19, 2011).
     Daley, Suzanne. "Bushwich Parish Restoring Organ to Past Glory," The New York Times ( Dec. 25, 1982).
     Gottlieb, Martin. "Church Mirrors Neighborhood's Hope," The New York Times (Aug. 15, 1993).
     Marrone, Francis. "Up From the Flames in Bushwick," The New York Sun (June 21, 2007).
     Trupiano, Larry. Electronic correspondence (10/3/2012) concerning blower installed by Reuben Midmer & Sons.
     Trupiano, Larry. Factory Specifications of M.P. Möller organ, Op. 5948 (1931).

Illustrations:
     Bridge and Tunnel Club web site: http://www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com
     SImpson, Devvon. Interior of St. Barbara's Church (2011).