Tercera Iglesia Bautista - Bronx, N.Y. (credit: Matthew Kiernan)
 
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Alexander Avenue Baptist Church

322 Alexander Avenue at 141st Street
The Bronx, N.Y. 10454


Organ Specifications:
Second building (1902-1954)
► II/25 Hillgreen, Lane & Co., Op. 27 (1901)
First building (1876-1900)
• unknown


The Alexander Avenue Baptist Church was organized in 1872. After meetng in various locations, the society purchased a plot on the corner of Alexander Avenue and 141st Street in the Mott Haven area of The Bronx, upon which a wooden chapel was erected in 1876.

By the end of the nineteenth century the old wooden chapel had become inadequate. At a Wednesday evening meeting in October 1898, the congregation (which was then without a pastor) decided to attempt to raise $10,000 toward a new building, the sum needed to qualify for a $20,000 loan (with a nominal interest of $1 per year) from the Baptist City Mission. The last service in the old chapel was held in October 1900, after which it was demolished in preparation for the new building on the same site. During this time the congregation worshipped in the Mott Haven Reformed Church. As designed by Frank Ward, the new church and adjoining three-story parsonage were in a modified Romanesque style, and constructed of granite and brick with limestone trimmings. There are two entrances on Alexander Avenue, one being at the base of a square tower set at an angle to the corner. The basement of the church building contained the Sunday school rooms and a ladies' parlor, above which are a Trustees' room and the auditorium with seating for 750. Walls in the auditorium were frescoed in a light green, while the area behind the pulpit was decorated in light colors. Pews, furnishings and the ceiling were of quartered oak. Built at a reported cost of $63,000, the completed facilities were dedicated on Sunday afternoon, February 23, 1902.

In 1954 the building became home to Tercera Iglesia Bautista (Third Spanish Baptist Church).
         
Hillgreen, Lane & Company
Alliance, Ohio – Opus 27 (1901)
Tubular-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 23 stops, 25 ranks


The Agreement (May 14, 1901) between Hillgreen, Lane and Company, and the Trustees of Alexander Avenue Baptist Church, show that Hillgreen, Lane would build a new two-manual organ for the sum of $3,000. The organ was to be complete and ready for use on or before the 15th day of September 1901.
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes
8
   Open Diapason
61
4
   Principal
61
8
   Doppelfloete (wood)
61
4
   Flute Harmonic
61
8
   Gamba (95% pure tin)
61
2
   Fifteenth
61
8
*
 Dolcissimo
61
8
   Trumpet
61
8
   Dulciana
61
   
               
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon Bass (wood)
12
8
*
 Vox Celestes
61
16
   Bourdon (wood)
49
4
   Rohrfloete (wood & metal)
61
8
   Open Diapason
61
4
   Fugara
61
8
   Stopped Diapason (wood)
61
2
   Piccolo
61
8
   Salicional
61
  Dolce Cornet 3 ranks
183
8
   Aeoline
61
8
   Oboe & Bassoon
61
               
Pedal Organ – 30 notes
16
   Double Open Diapason (wood)
30
8
   Violincello [sic]
30
16
   Bourdon (wood)
30
   
           
* "Augmented"
Couplers ("Operated by Rocking Tablets placed above the Manuals.")
    Swell to Great   Swell to Pedal
    Swell Superoctave to Great   Great to Pedal
    Swell Suboctaves to Great   Pedal to Pedal Octaves
    Swell to Swell Superoctave   Great Unison
    Swell to Swell Suboctave   Swell Unison
               
Coupler Cancel ("Operated by Pistons placed under their respective Manuals.")
    Great Cancel       Swell Cancel  
               
Mechanicals
    Swell Organ Tremulant   Crescendo Dial
    Bellows Wind Indicator    
               
Pedal Movements
    Balanced Swell Pedal    
    Grand Crescendo Pedal    
    Great Organ Forte   Swell Organ Forte
    Great Organ Mezzo   Swell Organ Mezzo
    Great Organ Piano   Swell Organ Piano
           
Sources:
     "Religious News and Views: Alexander Avenue Baptist Church to be Dedicated," The New York Times (Feb. 15, 1902).
     "Religious News and Views: New Baptist Churches," The New York Times (Mar. 5, 1898).
     Trupiano, Larry. Factory Specification of Hillgreen, Lane & Company organ (1902).

Illustration:
     New York Big Apple Images (credit: Matthew Kiernan). Exterior (2012). Used by permission.