Church of the Annunciation (Evangelismos)
(Greek Orthodox)

302 West 91st Street at West End Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10024
http://www.evangelismos.org/



Founded in 1892, the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church is one of the oldest Hellenic-American ecclesiastical communities in New York. From its humble beginnings in Judson Memorial Baptist Church in Greenwich Village, where the community celebrated its first liturgy, the church occupied the former Amity Baptist Church, at 310 West 54th Street. Later, the community moved to 325 West 85th Street, and in 1953 acquired the former Fourth Presbyterian Church.

Built in 1893-94 for the Fourth Presbyterian Church, the current facilities of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation were designed by the firm of Heins & LaFarge, who are perhaps best known as the original architects for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The Gothic Revival style building has a rusticated masonry façade trimmed at the portals and large windows with a sparing use of Venetian Gothic and neo-Romanesque Revival details. The focal point of the church buildings is the square bell tower at the corner of 91st Street and West End Avenue with its crenellated parapet embellished with gargoyle gutter-spouts, foliate carvings, and angels’ heads. The interior of the church contains impressive contributions from both congregations. The original pews and balcony, carved in a Gothic motif, are of highly polished dark stained wood. The ceiling vaults are mildly sloped and consist of plaster panels framed in the same wood. The deeply colored pictorial stained glass windows depicting the Ascension and the Transfiguration on the north and west walls are reputed to be the work of the Tiffany studios.

In 1957 the Greek Orthodox congregation added an intricately carved wooden screen with inset panels of gilt icons to separate the sanctuary from the nave. In addition, three voluminous, multi-tiered crystal chandeliers were imported from Czechoslovakia in the 1960s.

The adjacent two-and-one-half story Community Hall was originally constructed to house the Sunday School classrooms, committee rooms, the church office, and a sexton’s apartment. An Equity-certified, 92-seat, Off-Off Broadway Theater, with dressing rooms and backstage was installed in the basement of the Community Hall in 1980.
           
Skinner Organ Company
Boston, Mass. – Opus 563 (1927)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 43 registers, 34 stops, 37 ranks
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes
16
   Bourdon (ext. Ped.)
17
4
   Flute
61
8
   First Diapason
61
2
   Fifteenth
61
8
   Second Diapason
61
8
   Tuba (in Choir)
61
8
   Claribel Flute
61
8
   French Horn (in Choir)
61
4
   Octave
61
     Chimes
EC

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
73
4
   Octave
73
8
   Diapason
73
4
   Flute Triangulaire
73
8
   Rohr Flute
73
  Mixture IV ranks
244
8
   Salicional
73
16
   Waldhorn
73
8
   Voix Celeste
73
8
   Cornopean
73
8
   Flauto Dolce
73
8
   Oboe d'Amore
73
8
   Flute Celeste (TC)
61
8
   Vox Humana
73
8
  
Aeoline
preparation
 
   Tremolo   
               
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Concert Flute
73
2
   Harmonic Piccolo
61
8
   Gamba
73
8
   Clarinet
73
8
   Dulciana
73
     Tremolo  
4
   Flute
73
8
   Harp (TC)
—
2 2/3
   Nazard
61
4
  
Celesta
61 bars

     

     
Echo Organ – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Chimney Flute
73
     Tremolo  
8
   Vox Humana
73
    
Chimes
20 tubes
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes (Augmented)
32
   Resultant
—
8
   Still Gedeckt
SW
16
   Major Bass
44
4
   Flute (fr. Bourdon)
—
16
   Bourdon
56
16
   Trombone
44
16
   Echo Bourdon
SW
16
   Waldhorn
SW
8
   Octave (fr. Major Bass)
—
8
   Tromba (fr. Trombone)
—
8
   Gedeckt (fr. Bourdon)
—
     Chimes
EC
               
Couplers
    Swell to Pedal 8', 4'   Swell to Choir 8'
    Great to Pedal 8'   Great to Great 4'
    Choir to Pedal 8'   Swell to Swell 16', 4'
    Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'   Choir to Choir 16', 4'
    Choir to Great 16', 8', 4'    
               
Adjustable Combinations
   
Swell Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 Affecting all Pedal Stops and Couplers
Great Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 Affecting all Pedal Stops and Couplers
Choir Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4 Affecting all Pedal Stops and Couplers
Pedal Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4-5  
General Pistons 1-2-3-4 Affecting all Stops and Couplers
  General Cancel  
               
Mechanicals
    Swell Expression Pedal  
Push Buttons
Echo On, Great Off
Great On, Echo Off
Both On
Release
    Choir Expression Pedal  
    Crescendo Pedal  
    Great to Pedal Reversible  
    Sforzando Pedal, Reversible Pedal and Piston  
           
Sources:
     Aeolian-Skinner Archives: http://aeolianskinner.organsociety.org/
     Church of the Annunciation website: http://www.evangelismos.org/
     Dunlap, David. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
     Kinzey, Allen, and Sand Lawn, comps. E.M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner Opus List. New Rev. Ed. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.
     Trupiano, Larry. Agreement and Specification (Mar. 16, 1927) of Skinner Organ Company organ, Op. 563.