St. Casimir Catholic Church


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Church of St. Casimir
(Roman Catholic)

40 Greene Avenue at Adelphi Street
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11238

Organ Specifications:
40 Greene Avenue at Adelphi Street (1890-1980)
► II/15 Tellers-Kent Organ Co., Op. 176 (1919)
► II/13 Charles Maier (c.1899)
• Henry Erben (1864)
Lawrence and Tillary Streets (1875-1890)
• George Jardine & Son (<1890)

The parish of St. Casimir was established in 1875 to serve some 100 Polish and Lithuanian families then living in Brooklyn and Greenpoint. Father Joseph Niedzielski of Cincinnati was appointed first pastor, and under his direction the former Second Baptist Church at Lawrence and Tillary Streets was purchased and dedicated by Bishop Loughlin that same year. By 1890, most of the Poles had moved out of the area, and the parish was relocated to the former Temple Israel on Greene Avenue at Adelphi Street. Their former church building on Lawrence Street was then ceded to the Italians (St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church), who remained there until 1913.

The Temple Israel building was erected c.1864 for the Fourth Universalist Society, known as the Church of the Redeemer, that had been founded in 1860 by members of the First Universalist Society who had moved to the Fort Greene area. Designed in the Rundbogenstil or Round Arch style, a variant of the Romanesque Revival that was popular in the years around the time of the Civil War, the brownstone-fronted building is attributed to Rembrandt Lockwood, an artist-turned-architect who specialized in ecclesiastical and institutional buildings. In November 1868, the church was put up for sale and the First and Fourth Universalists societies were recombined, worshipping here until April 1870 when it was purchased by the newly formed Temple Israel, a Reform congregation. After 20 years, Temple Israel had outgrown the building and it was sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn in 1890. An alteration plan filed that year lists a "Mr. Weber" — possibly Frederick Weber of Greenpoint — as the architect responsible for the addition of an apse and steeple.

By the 1970s attendance at St. Casimir's had dwindled and the congregation was absorbed into Our Lady of Czestochowa Church in 1980. That same year the building was purchased by Dr. Josephine English, the first African-American woman licensed as an obstetrician/gynecologist in New York State, who had established the Adelphi Medical Center at the corner of Greene Avenue in 1979. Dr. English recognized the role that the arts played in the community and converted the church into The Paul Robeson Theatre, named for the legendary African-American actor. The building was designated by the New York City Landmarks Commission in October 2011.

Tellers-Kent Organ Company
Erie, Penn. – Opus 176 (1919)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 17 stops, 15 ranks

In 1919, the Tellers-Kent Organ Company built a two-manual organ for St. Casimir's Church. The organ was divided and had a detached stop-key console, centrally located in the gallery and facing down the nave. Larry Trupiano of Brooklyn recalled that as one sat at the console, the Great and Pedal Bourdon were on the left, with the Swell and 8' Violoncello on the right.

The following specification (which differs slightly and is more detailed than the one provided earlier by Aaron M. Tellers) is from Louis F. Mohr & Co., an organ service concern in the area. Mohr releathered the entire organ in 1969, and noted that the console had been rebuilt by [A.J. and J.A.] Rizzo of Brooklyn. Larry Trupiano was involved with that project and recalls Charles Scharpeger, a fellow employee, mentioning that the pipes were old; it seems possible that Tellers-Kent retained the pipes from the previous Charles Maier organ and reworked them for the new instrument.

Mr. Trupiano understood that this organ was relocated to Our Lady of Czestochowa Church in Brooklyn by a Polish organbuilder either living in the country or visiting from Poland when the diocese closed St. Casimir's Church.

Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes

Open Diapason

Flute Harmonic

Doppel Flute

Trumpet

Viol d'Gamba

Chimes

20 tubes

Octave

Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed

Bourdon

Forest Flute

Viol d'Orchestre

Violina

Salicional

Vox Humana

Aeoline

Tremolo

Pedal Organ – 32 notes

Bourdon [unit]

Violoncello

Dolce (Lieblich Gedeckt)

Flute [ext.]

—

Couplers

Great to Pedal

Great to Great 16', 4'

Swell to Pedal

Swell to Swell 16', 4'

Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'

Combination Pistons

Pistons No. 1-2-3-4 affecting Swell Organ

Pistons No. 1-2-3-4 affecting Great Organ

Pedal Movements

Balanced Swell Pedal

Crescendo Pedal

Charles Maier New York City (c.1899) Tubular-pneumatic action 2 manuals, 13 stops, 13 ranks The following specification was recorded (Jan. 1914) by Louis F. Mohr & Co., an organ service concern in the area. Mohr noted that the organ had a case of quartered oak with gold pipes. An electric blower was added in 1911. Charles Maier was active in New York City by 1899 and built portable and stationary pipe organs. He was succeeded by the Fenton Organ Company in 1912.

Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes
8	Open Diapason	61	4	Gemshorn	61
8	Salicional	61	8	Trumpet	61
8	Doppel Flute	61

Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
8	Violin Diapason	61	4	Flute Harmonic	61
8	Stopped Diapason	61	8	Vox Celestis [TC]	49
8	Dolce	61	8	Vox Humana	61

Pedal Organ – 30 notes
16	Bourdon	30
8	Violoncello	30

Couplers ("four Couplers")
	[Great to Pedal]			[Swell to Great]
	[Swell to Pedal]			[Swell to Great octaves?]

Combinations
	Five Pedal Combinations

Mechanicals
	Tremulant			Bellows Signal
	Balance Swell Pedal
	Great to Pedal Reversible			Electric Blower

Henry Erben
New York City (1864)
Mechanical action

Henry Erben of New York City built an organ in 1864 for the Fourth Universalist Society on Greene Street. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.

Organ in previous church located at Lawrence and Tillary:

George Jardine & Son
New York City (<1890)
Mechanical action

Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.

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.
     Fox, David H. A Guide to North American Organbuilders (Rev. ed.). Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.
     Mohr, Louis F. & Co. Specifications (Jan. 1914) of Charles Maier organ (c.1899). Courtesy Larry Trupiano.
     Mohr, Louis F. & Co. Specifications of Tellers-Kent organ, Op. 176 (1919). Courtesy Larry Trupiano.
     Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
     "St. Casimir's Roman Catholic Church (Now the Paul Robeson Theatre)," New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Designation List 449 (LP-2476); Oct. 25, 2011.
     Tellers, Aaron M. Specifications of Tellers-Kent Organ, Op. 176 (1919).
     Trupiano, Larry. Electronic correspondence (Mar. 3, 2010) concerning Tellers-Kent Organ, Op. 176 (1919).

Illustration:
     Brazee, Christopher D. Exterior (2011). Designation by New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (Oct. 25, 2011).

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