All Saints Episcopal Church - New York City (photo: Steven E. Lawson)
 
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All Saints Episcopal Church
(originally St. Thomas Chapel)

230 East 60th Street
New York, N.Y. 10022
http://www.allsaintsnyc.org

Organ Specifications:
230 East 60th Street (since 1872) – orig. St. Thomas Chapel
Present building (since 1894)
► II/18 Noack Organ Company, Op. 9 (1969) – Chancel
► III/28 Skinner Organ Company, Op. 598-A (1927) – Chancel
► III/24 Skinner Organ Company, Op. 598 (1926) – Gallery
► II/29 Johnson & Son, Op. 852 (1897) – Gallery
First building (1872-1893)
• unknown
East 54th Street (1868-1871)
• unknown
Corner Prince and Thompson Streets (1858-1868)
• unknown


In the pre-Civil War year of 1858, "The Free Chapel of St. Thomas's Church" was established at the urging of the Rev. William F. Morgan, D.D., rector of St. Thomas Church, who wished to relieve the "spiritual destitution" and reclaim or improve "a neighborhood now very generally surrendered to vice and irreligion." As was common at the time, most churches generated income from the sale of pews at public auction, thus effectively shutting out the lower and middle classes from the regular ministrations of the Church. The St. Thomas Chapel was to be "free," meaning that pews would not be sold, and would be financed by four collections taken every year at the parish church to pay the stipends of the missionary, the organist, and the sexton.

St. Thomas Chapel (1858) - New York City  
First St. Thomas Chapel (1858-1868)  
The first chapel was located in a church building at the corner of Prince and Thompson Streets that had been built in 1833 as the Second Associate Presbyterian Church and, later, as the Church of the Annunciation, then still later as the short-lived Emmanuel Church. The building was in the process of being converted to a stable when Dr. Morgan arranged to rent it for $800 a year. The chapel attracted area a large number of immigrants, fulfilling its intending ministry and mission. In 1864, the rented building was ordered by the courts to be sold, so it was purchased by an individual who then sold it, at reduced cost, to the Rev. Frederick Sill, the chapel missionary. In 1871, the chapel was organized as an independent congregation named St. Ambrose, which continued until 1885 when it was taken over by the City Mission Society.

In 1868, as the St. Thomas congregation was meeting in a temporary chapel erected within the incomplete walls of the new Fifth Avenue church, Dr. Morgan was approached with a proposition to lease the Good Shepherd Free Church, which had been established in 1855 on East Fifth-fourth Street between Second and Third Avenues. The vestry accepted this proposal, and St. Thomas Church took over the Good Shepherd Church and renamed it St. Thomas Chapel. In 1871, the lease for the property expired, and the land was sold by the owner. Until a new facility could be secured, the Sunday School met in a nearby public school, and morning services were held in Brevoort Hall on East Fifty-fourth Street; evening services were held in the Lenten Chapel of the new parish church.

St. Thomas Chapel (1872) - New York City  
Third St. Thomas Chapel (1872-1893)  
In December of 1871, three lots were purchased on East Sixtieth Street, between Second and Third Avenues, and the St. Thomas Association for Parish Work, which had been overseeing the work of the chapel, began raising funds for a third building. In October 1872, the cornerstone was laid for a new chapel that was consecrated on Saturday, December 21, 1872, the feast of Saint Thomas. The new chapel had a seating capacity of six hundred and could accomodate two hundred children in the Sunday School room.

  St. Thomas Chapel (1894) - New York City
  Fourth St. Thomas Chapel (1894)
In 1893, after twenty-one years of use, the 1872 chapel was in need of extensive and costly repairs. It was decided to tear down the building and erect a new one on the same site. Mr. C. E. Miller designed the new building that was described as "one of the most cheerful and well arranged churches in the city." The fourth Saint Thomas Chapel was consecrated on the Sunday after Easter in 1894, by the Rt. Rev. Henry Codman Potter, Bishop of New York. Costing about $30,000, the new chapel featured a beautiful chancel and distinctive windows executed by Holman Hunt.

St. Thomas Chapel (1959) - New York City  
By the middle of the 20th century, the area around Saint Thomas Chapel was no longer a slum, and the congregation had evolved into a working class parish. The appearance of the 1894 building has been altered twice: first in 1959 when architectural details were removed and the exterior received a coating of stucco; and most recently in 2002, when architect Samuel G. White (great-grandson of Stanford White) of Platt Byard Dovell White designed a Carpenter Gothic facade inspired by the Bodleian Library at Oxford. In 1965, the chapel became independent and was renamed All Saints Episcopal Church.
 
 

Noack Organ, Op. 9 (1969) in All Saints' Episcopal Church - New York City (Photo: Noack Organs)
Noack Organ Company
Georgetown, Mass. – Opus 9 (1969)
Mechanical key and stop action
Slider chests, reversed console
2 manuals, 15 stops, 18 ranks






The Noack organ installed in the chancel was intended to be part of a much larger scheme which has not been realized. Completely unenclosed, the chancel organ has mechanical action and a reversed console.
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 56 notes
16
   Pommer
 56
2
   Waldflöte
56
8
   Principal
56
     Mixture IV ranks
224
4
   Octave
56
        
               
Brustwerk Organ (Manual II) – 56 notes
8
   Gedackt
56
2
   Principal
56
4
   Rohrflöte
56
1
   Octave
56
2 2/3
   Nasard
56
        
 
      
 
      
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
   Pommer *
GT
2
   Nachthorn [1-12 trans.]
GT
8
   Principal *
GT
 
   Rauschwerk IV ranks
128
4
   Octave *
GT
 
  
* by transmission
               
Couplers
    Brustwerk to Great          
    Brustwerk to Pedal          
             
Skinner Organ Company
Boston, Mass. – Opus 598 (1926); Opus 598-A (1927)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 29 stops, 28 ranks, 1,926 pipes – Opus 598-A (1927)
3 manuals, 25 stops, 24 ranks, 1,646 pipes – Opus 598 (1926)


In 1926, the Skinner Organ Company built a three-manual organ that was installed in the gallery. Skinner returned in 1927 to add a four-rank Chancel Great division. Around 1969 the organ was removed and reinstalled in the Church of the Crucifixion, located at 459 West 149 Street.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes
    Gallery Great:       Chancel Great, enclosed:
8
   Diapason
73
8
   Diapason *
63
8
   Claribel Flute
73
8
   Chimney Flute *
63
4
   Octave
73
8
   Dulciana *
63
8
   Tromba
73
8
   Unda Maris * [TC]
49
    Chimes [Op. 598-A]       Tremolo *
           
* added as Op. 598-A (1927)
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
73
4
   Flute
73
8
   Diapason
73
     Mixture III ranks
183
8
   Gedeckt
73
8
   Cornopean
73
8
   Salicional
73
8
   Corno d'Amore
73
8
   Voix Celeste
73
8
   Vox Humana
73
8
   Flute Celeste II ranks
134
     Tremolo  
               
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Concert Flute
73
8
   Clarinet
73
8
   Dulciana
73
     Tremolo  
4
   Flute
73
        
 
      
 
      
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
   Sub Bass
44
8
   Octave [ext.]
—
16
   Bourdon
44
8
   Gedeckt [ext.]
—
16
   Echo Lieblich
SW
8
   Still Gedeckt
SW
               
Couplers
    Swell to Pedal 8', 4'   Swell to Choir 16', 8', 4'
    Great to Pedal 8'   Great to Great 4'
    Choir to Pedal 8'   Swell to Swell 16', 4', Unison Off
    Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'   Choir to Choir 16', 4', Unison Off
    Choir to Great 16', 8', 4'    
               
Combinations
   
Swell Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 Ped. to Man. Combs. On or Off
Great Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4 Ped. to Man. Combs. On or Off
Choir Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 Ped. to Man. Combs. On or Off
Pedal Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6  
               
Pedal Movements
    Balanced Swell Pedal          
    Balanced Choir Pedal [and Chancel Great?]  
    Crescendo Pedal          
             
Johnson & Son
Westfield, Mass. – Opus 852 (1897)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 25 stops, 29 ranks


An early, if not the first, organ installed in St. Thomas Chapel was built by Johnson & Son in 1897. The following specification was recorded by Lynnwood Farnam (1885-1930), noted concert organist of the early 20th century, in one of his "Organ Notebooks." Farnam commented that the Johnson was a "Clumsy old organ, tracker," and that it "Stood in northeast corner of church." Farnam also noted that he "visited it when Maurice Garahant was organist. New Skinner succeeded it."
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes
16
   Double Open Diapason *
 61
4
   Flute d'Amour
61
8
   Open Diapason
61
2 2/3
   Twelfth
61
8
   Viola da Gamba
61
2
   Fifteenth
61
8
   Dulciana
61
     Mixture, 3 ranks
183
8
   Doppel Flöte
61
8
   Trumpet
61
4
   Octave
61
    
* 1-7 stopped pipes
               
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon Bass
12
4
   Violina
61
16
   Bourdon Treble [TC]
49
4
   Flute Harmonique
61
8
   Open Diapason
61
2
   Flautina
61
8
   Salicional
61
     Dolce Cornet, 3 ranks
183
8
   Aeoline
61
8
   Cornopean
61
8
   Stopped Diapason
61
8
   Oboe
61
 
      
 
      
Pedal Organ – 30 notes
16
   Open Diapason [wood]
30
8
   Violoncello
30
16
   Bourdon
30
 
      
               
Couplers
    Great to Pedal       Swell to Great  
    Swell to Pedal       Swell to Great octave  
               
Pedal Movements and Accessories
    Tremolo   Tremolo
    Balanced Swell pedal   Blower's Signal
    Great to Pedal Reversible   Pedal check
    2 composition pedals to Swell    
    2 composition pedals to Great & Pedal    
             
Sources:
     Aeolian-Skinner Archives web site: htttp://aeolian-skinner.110mb.com/
     All Saints Episcopal Church web site: http://www.allsaintsnyc.org
     Dunlap, David W. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
     Elsworth, John Van Varick. The Johnson Organs. Harrisville, N.H.: The Boston Organ Club Chapter of the Organ Historical Society, 1984.
     Farnam, Lynnwood. "Organ Notebook," p.1695 (specifications of Johnson organ, Op. 852). John de Lancie Library, The Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia. Sally Branca, archivist. Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.
     Kinzey, Allen. Specifications of Skinner organ, Op. 598-A (1927).
     Kinzey, Allen, and Sand Lawn, comps. E.M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner Opus List. New Rev. Ed. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.
     Noack Organ Company web site: http://www.noackorgan.com/
     Webber, F.R. "Organ Scrapbook" with specifications of Skinner organ, Op. 598. Organ Historical Society Archives, Princeton, N.J. Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.
     Wright, J. Robert. Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue. New York: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company and Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, 2001.

Illustrations:
     Lawson, Steven E. Exterior of present building.
     Noack Organ Company. Noack organ case.
     St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue Archives. Exterior photos of chapel buildings.