Click on images to enlarge College of Mount St. Vincent 6301 Riverdale Avenue The Bronx, N.Y. 10471 http://www.cmsv.edu Chapel                 In 1847, the Sisters of Charity founded their first Motherhouse and the Academy of Mount Saint Vincent on a hill near what is now 105th Street and Fifth Avenue. When New York City announced plans to enlarge Central Park in 1855, the Sisters of Charity needed to find a new home for their Motherhouse and Academy. In 1856, under the leadership of Mother Angela Hughes, they chose a wooded area in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, on a hill along the Hudson River which a sweeping view of the Palisades. In the early years, the academy offered nursing courses in conjuction with St. Vincent's Hospital. Today, the college is co-educational and provides a competitive academic program. Among its distinguished alumna is Corazon Cojuangco (Class of 1953), who, as Corazon Aquino, became president of the Philippines. The Chapel is located in the original building, which was erected in 1857-59 as designed by Henry Engelbert. Additions were made to what is now the Administration Building in 1865, 1883, and 1906-08. In 1979, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building as a masterpiece of Early Romanesque Revival style.                     credit: Sebastian M. Glück Hilborne L. Roosevelt New York City – No. 4 (1873) Mechanical action 2 manuals, 16 stops, 16 ranks The Chapel of what is now known as the College of Mount Saint Vincent was enlarged to its present size in 1874. The organ was built by Hilborne L. Roosevelt of New York City in 1873 (No. 4). A note tacked inside the organ case reads, "This organ was under repair from Jan. 14, 1960 to June 29, 1960. No repairs to chests or action. The old-time Roosevelt pipes were taken to the factory, cleaned, re-paired, re-set and re-voiced. This work was done by J.H. & C.S. Odell & Co., Yonkers, N.Y. Tuned Fall '84." The organ, one of the earliest extant Roosevelts, is in nearly original but poor working condition. The College has plans to restore the instrument when funds become available.                 Great Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes 16   Double Melodia [missing] 58 4   Octave 58 8   Open Diapason 58 2   Fifteenth 58 8   Dulciana 58 8   Cornopean 58 8   Gamba * 58   * originally Mixture III 8   Clarabella ** 46   ** 1-12 common with Dulciana             Swell Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes, enclosed 8   Viola di Gamba (TC) 46 4   Flute Harmonique 58 8   Doppel Flöte 58 2   Piccolo 58 8   Stopped Diapason Bass 12 8   Oboe 58                 Pedal Organ – 30 notes 16   Double Open 30 8   Violoncello 30 16   Bourdon 30                   Accessories     Swell to Great       Pedal Combination 1       Swell to Pedal       Pedal Combination 2       Great to Pedal       Tremulant                   Sources:      College of Mount Saint Vincent website: http://www.cmsv.edu      Dolkart, Andrew S. and Postal, Matthew A. Guide to New York City Landmarks (Third Edition). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2004.      Ogasapian, John. Organ Building in New York City: 1700-1900. Braintree: The Organ Literature Foundation, 1977. Illustrations:      Glück, Sebastian M. Organ case (2018).                   | NYC AGO Home Page | Back to NYC Organs List |