Amity Baptist Church - New York City
  First building on West 54th Street
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Amity Baptist Church

310 West 54th Street
New York, N.Y. 10019


Organ Specifications:
310 West 54th Street (1867-?)
Second Building (1908-?)
• II/23 Austin Organ Company, Op. 254 (1910)
► II/9 Hope-Jones Organ Co. (1908)
First Building (1867-1907) – orig. St. Timothy Episcopal Church
• II/27reg M.P. Möller, Op. 49 (1882)
33 Amity (3rd) Street at Mercer Street (1834-1867)
• Wm. H. Davis & Ferris (1849)


The Amity Baptist Church was formed by members of the Oliver Street Church, of which Rev. John Williams was pastor until his death. Named for Amity Street (later 3rd Street), the society was organized on December 17, 1832; on the same day Rev. W. R. Williams, son of Rev. John Williams, was ordained to the ministry and installed as pastor. A church building, designed in the Greek Revival style by Samuel Dunbar, was erected in 1834. In 1867 the congregation followed the northward migration of residents and moved to their second building, the former St. Timothy's Episcopal Church at 310 West 54th Street, near Eighth Avenue. Built in 1860, this clapboard Gothic building was later dismantled, moved and rebuilt in Marlborough-on-Hudson, New York, near the home of the Rev. Leighton Williams, eldest son of Rev. W. R. Williams, who was the pastor from 1887-1917.

The third building for the congregation was located on the same site as the second. Designed by Rossiter & Wright, it had a herringbone tile dome by Rafael Guastavino, and was constructed from 1907-1908. This building was later owned by the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation.
           
  Amity Baptist Church - New York City
  Interior of 1908 building
Austin Organ Company
Hartford, Conn. – Opus 254 (1910)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 23 stops





The Austin Organ Company installed a two-manual organ in 1910. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
           
Hope-Jones Organ Co.
Elmira, N.Y. (1908)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 33 stops, 9 ranks


This organ was not built.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
  Bourdon
B
8
  Aeoline
F
8
  Diapason Phonon
A
8
   Unda Maris [TC]
G
8
  Gedact [sic]
B
4
  Octave
C
8
  Horn Diapason
C
8
  Tuba
H
               
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
  Gedact
B
4
   Dulcet
F
8
  Horn Diapason
C
4
   Unda Maris
G
8
  Viole d'Orchestre
D
2
   Piccolo
B
8
  Viol Celeste
E
16
   Orchestral Oboe [TC]
I
8
   Aeoline
F
8
   Tuba
H
8
   Unda Maris [TC]
G
8
   Orchestral Oboe/Vox Humana
I
4
   Flute
B
        
               
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
  Gedact
B
8
   Unda Maris [TC]
G
8
  Viol d'Orchestre
D
4
   Flute
B
8
  Viol Celeste
E
8
  Orchestral Oboe
I
8
   Aeoline
F
     
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes, enclosed
32
   Resultant Bass
B
16
   Cello
DE
16
   Diapason Phonon
A
16
   Ophicleide
H
16
   Bourdon
B
        
               
SUMMARY OF RANKS
STOP
PITCH
PIPES
A. Diapason Phonon

16'
73
B. Gedact

8'
97
C. Horn Diapason

8'
73
D. Viol d'Orchestre

16'
73
E. Viol Celeste

8'
73
F. Aeoline

8'
85
G. Unda Maris

4'
73
H. Tuba

16'
85
 I. Orch. Oboe/Vox Humana

8'
61
           
M.P. Möller, Inc.
Hagerstown, Md. – Opus 49 (1882)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 27 registers


Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
           
Wm. H. Davis & R. Ferris
New York City (1849)
Mechanical action


Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
           
Sources:
     Dunlap, David. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
     Hansell, George H. Reminiscences of Baptist Churches and Baptist Leaders in New York City and Vacinity, from 1835–1898. Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1899.

Illustrations:
     Episcopal Diocese of New York Archives. Photo of St. Timothy Episcopal Church; courtesy Wayne Kempton.
     Glück, Sebastian M. Interior of second building on West 54th Street.