St. Peter Catholic Church - Brooklyn, N.Y. (Brooklyn Eagle post card, c.1905)
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Church of St. Peter – Our Lady of Pilar
(Roman Catholic)

117 Warren Street at Hicks Street
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201


Organ Specifications:
► III/41 George Jardine & Son (1879); elect. by Robt. Grigo
• III/40 George Jardine & Son (1879)
• II/37 Henry Erben (1861)


St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church was established in 1858 as a parish of the 6th Ward. Patrick C. Keely, the notable architect and resident of Brooklyn, designed the Neo-gothic church, which was completed in late 1860. The brick church was 168 feet deep (including the rectory) and 65 feet wide, and featured a spire that included a clock and bell.

In 1934, the Church of Our Lady of Pilar was merged into St. Peter's, and the church was renamed St. Peter – Our Lady of Pilar. In 1975, the church was closed, after being absorbed by St. Paul's Church.
               
George Jardine & Son
New York City (1879)
Electro-pneumatic action; electrified by Robert Grigo
3 manuals, 36 stops, 41 ranks


At an unknown time the Erben/Jardine organ was electrified by Robert Grigo. In 2002, the organ was removed (less the case) by the Organ Clearing House.

The following specification was recorded by F.R. Webber, whose "Organ Scrapbooks" are in the possession of The Organ Historical Society Archives in Princeton, N.J. Webber wrote these comments:
In the west gallery. An old organ, high, three gables front with 16' Diapason displayed. Wood Open Diapason on the ends. It bears some resemblance to a Roosevelt of c.1874. Fronts have semi-circular raised bay leaves. Detached stop key console with the name of Robert Grigo painted on a wood nameplate, somewhat crudely. The Violin diapason may be a Choir rank. – Visited 11 Sept, 1955.

This church had an Erben 2-37 (1861), Pedal of 2 octaves
               
Great Organ (Manual II)
16
   Open Diapason  
4
   Hohl flöte  
8
   Open Diapason  
2 2/3
  Octave Quint  
8
   Principal Flute  
2
   Flageolet  
8
   Viola di Gamba       Mixture [4 ranks?]  
8
   Dulciana  
8
   Trumpet  
8
   Doppel flöte  
4
   Clarion  
4
   Principal          
               
Swell Organ (Manual III) – enclosed
16
   Bourdon  
4
   Violina  
8
   Open Diapason  
4
   Flute d'Amour  
8
   Violin Diapason *       Cornet, 2 & 3 ranks  
8
   Dulciana  
8
   Cornopean  
8
   Salicional  
8
   Vox Humana  
8
   Stopped Diapason      
* this may be a Choir rank
               
Choir Organ (Manual I)
16
   Bourdon  
4
   Harmonic Flute  
8
   [Violin Diapason]  
2
   Piccolo  
8
   Dolce  
8
   Clarinet  
8
   Melodia  
8
   Oboe  
               
Pedal Organ
16
   Open Diapason  
8
   Violoncello  
16
   Bourdon  
16
   Trombone  
16
   Violin          
             
George Jardine & Sons
New York City (1879)
Mechanical action
3 manuals, 40 stops


In 1879, George Jardine & Sons rebuilt and enlarged the 1861 Erben organ, under the supervision of Mr. John M. Loretz, Jr., organist of the church, and with the encouragement of Fr. Fransioli, pastor. As described in the Brooklyn Eagle (Jan. 5, 1880), "For the past nineteen years it has been in constant use and proved itself a fine instrument. The wear and tear, however, to which it had been subjected and the modern improvements which have been from time to time introduced rendered its renovation and enlargement necessary." Messrs. Jardine added a third manual (Solo) having seven stops that was posititioned above the old organ, near the roof of the church. To the Swell were added a Vox Humana and Cornopean that were built by Cavaillé-Coll of Paris. "The great organ has had a new trumpet and a new clarion added, and both of these stops give the instrument a power and brilliancy which it always needed. The pedal organ was found so perfect that the builders of the new organ considered it a musical sacrilege to touch it."

This organ was publicly exhibited on the evening of January 4, 1880, in a programme performed by "three of the leading organists of the day" (Mr. Loretz, Mr. Edward Jardine, and Mr. Albert S. Caswell), along with the church choir and a soprano and tenor.
             
Henry Erben
New York City (1861)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 37 stops


The original organ in St. Peter's Church was built in 1861 by Henry Erben of New York City. This organ had two manuals and 37 stops. Specifications of this organ have not yet been located.
               
Sources:
     "A Grand Organ," Brooklyn Eagle (Jan. 5, 1880).
     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.
     "City News and Gossip," Brooklyn Eagle (Sep. 7, 1860).
     "Merged Parishes Receive New Names," The Tablet, the Weekly Newspaper of the Diocese of Brooklyn, Vol. 100, No. 25, September 22, 2007.
     "St. Peter's Organ," Brooklyn Eagle (Dec. 7, 1879).
     Webber, F.R. "Organ scrapbook" at Organ Historical Society Archives, Princeton, N.J. Stoplist of Henry Erben organ (1861). Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.

Illustration:
     The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X, Vol. III. Exterior (c.1914).