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Highbridge Community Church
(Reformed Church in America)
1272 Ogden Avenue between 168th and 169th Streets
Bronx, N.Y. 10452
http://www.highbridgechurch.org/
The Highbridge Community Church was organized on January 1, 2006 when a group of elders and deacons from Fordham Manor Reformed Church, led by Pastor Irving Rivera and Elder Cora Taitt, decided to reestablish a congregation in the Highbridge area of The Bronx. The new congregation acquired the former Union Reformed Church on Ogden Avenue, a society that existed from 1860 until it disbanded in 2005.
Designed by Alfred E. Barlow in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, the edifice was built between 1887 and 1888 by D.C. Weeks & Son of New York City. The one-story structure is constructed of rock-faced gneiss ashlar with red sandstone trim, and features a taller square bell tower at the southeast corner. At the east end of the building, where the altar is located, there is a stained-glass rose window manufactured by the Tiffany Glass Co. in 1889. The completed church was dedicated on Thursday evening, December 6, 1888.
In November 2010, the building was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. |
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J.H. & C.S. Odell
New York City – Opus 263 (1888)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 11 stops, 11 ranks
On December 20, 1888, an Agreement for a new organ was signed by J.H. & C.S. Odell and the trustees of the Union Reformed Church of Highbridge, N.Y. Odell provided their "Size No. 8" organ that had 18 registers and 10 stops, playable from two manuals of 58 notes each and a pedal of 27 notes. The organ cost $1,600 and was to be set up and complete on or before April 15, 1889. A handwritten note on the specification sheet states that an Aeoline 8' was added later.
The blower for the organ was disconnected following Superstorm Sandy in 2012. |
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Great Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes
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8 |
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Open Diapason |
58 |
8 |
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Melodia [TC] |
46 |
8 |
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Dulciana |
58 |
4 |
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Octave |
58 |
8 |
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Unison Bass (wood) |
12 |
2 |
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Fifteenth |
58 |
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Swell Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes, enclosed
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8 |
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Viola [TC] |
46 |
4 |
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Flute |
58 |
8 |
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St. Diapason Bass (wood) |
12 |
8 |
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Oboe [TC] |
46 |
8 |
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Stopped Diapason [TC] |
46 |
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Tremolo |
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8 |
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Aeolian [added later] |
58? |
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Pedal Organ – 27 notes
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16 |
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Bourdon (wood) |
27 |
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Mechanical Registers
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Swell to Great (coupler) |
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Bellows Signal |
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Swell to Pedal (coupler) |
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Balance Swell Pedal |
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Great to Pedal (coupler) |
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Sources:
"Church Dedication at High Bridge," The New York Times (Dec. 7, 1888).
Gasero, Russell L., ed. Historical Directory of the Reformed Church in America, 1628–1992.
Hermalyn, Gary and Robert Kornfeld. Landmarks of The Bronx. Bronx, NY: Bronx Historical Society, 1989.
Highbridge Community Church web site: http://www.highbridgechurch.org/
"New Union Reformed Church," The New York Times (Dec. 2, 1888).
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission Press Release No. 10-13 (Nov. 16, 2010).
Trupiano, Larry. Factory Contract and Specifications of J.H. & C.S. Odell organ, Op. 263 (1888).
Illustrations:
Schmauch, David. Exterior; J.H. & C.S. Odell organ, Op. 263 (1888). |
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