Zankel Hall - New York City (credit: aecom.com)
  Zankel Hall
  Zankel Hall - New York City (credit: aecom.com)
  Click on images to enlarge
Zankel Hall
Carnegie Hall Cinema
Carnegie Lyceum
Recital Hall

881 Seventh Avenue at 57th Street – basement level
New York City, N.Y. 10019

Organ Specifications:
Zankel Hall (since 2003)
• none
Carnegie Hall Cinema (c.1959-1997)
► II/5 "Style 150" Wurlitzer, Op. 2095 (1931)
Carnegie Lyceum (1896-c.1959)
• II/20reg M.P. Möller, Inc., Op. 1706 (1913)
Recital Hall (1891-1896)
• none
           
  Carnegie Hall Cinema
   
  Carnegie Hall Cinema - New York City (photo: Mesbur+Smith Architects)
  Carnegie Hall Cinema interior
An auditorium known as "Recital Hall" originally occupied this space, and it was the first performance room in Carnegie Hall to be used, in April 1891. Recital Hall was renovated in 1896 and renamed Carnegie Lyceum. The American Academy of Dramatic Arts leased the Carnegie Lyceum in 1898; it fell into disuse and remained vacant until Carnegie Hall leased it around 1959 for use as an "art" movie house, known as the Carnegie Hall Cinema. In 1997, the Carnegie Hall Cinema closed, concurrent with the restoration and refurbishing of Carnegie Hall above.

Zankel Hall, a performance and education space named for Judy and Arthur Zankel, opened in September 2003. With seating for about 640 patrons, the auditorium and stage can be reconfigured as desired.
           
  Wurlitzer Organ, Op. 2095 (1931) shown in the Lafayette Theatre, Suffern, N.Y. (photo: New York Theatre Organ Society)
 
Op. 2095 console now in the
Lafayette Theatre, Suffern, N.Y.
Organ in Carnegie Hall Cinema:

Wurlitzer Organ Company
North Tonawanda, N.Y. – Opus 2095 (1931)
Electro-pneumatic action
Style 150
2 manuals, 5 ranks, 3 tuned percussion, 19 traps



This organ was originally built for the Lawler Theatre in Greenfield, Mass., and shipped from the factory on January 28, 1930. When the Lawler closed, the organ was moved to the Rainbow Roller Rink in South Deerfield, Mass., where it was rarely used. The owners of the rink sold it to Ben M. Hall, who installed the organ in his duplex apartment at 181 Christopher Street. Hall was an editor for Time-Life, film critic, a noted theater historian, founder of the Theatre Historical Society, and in 1961 wrote The Best Remaining Seats, a fascinating account of the movie palace. Tragically, Hall was murdered in his home in 1970. His estate gave the organ to the American Theatre Organ Society, who had it shipped to California for installation in the proposed Harold Lloyd Estate museum. Plans for the museum fell through and the organ was shipped back to New York City where the New York Theatre Organ Society (NYTOS) installed it in the Carnegie Hall Cinema. Opus 2095 played in the Carnegie Hall Cinema for over ten years until the restoration of Carnegie Hall. During restoration, the Carnegie Hall Cinema was twinned, and the organ was put in storage. Dave Kopp, then chairman of NYTOS, arranged for the organ to be installed in the Lafayette Theatre in Suffern, N.Y., where it made its debut in December 1992. Opus 2095 has been enlarged to 11 ranks and is maintained by the NYTOS.
           
Pedal – 32 notes
16
   Bourdon
  Bass Drum
8
   Trumpet
  Kettle Drum
8
   Tibia Clausa
  Crash Cymbal
8
   Cello
  Cymbal
8
   Flute     1st and 2nd Touch Traps Switch

   

   
Accompaniment (Manual I) –- 61 notes
16
   Contra Viol (TC)
  Snare Drum
16
   Bourdon
  Tambourine
16
   Vox Humana (TC)
  Castanets
8
   Trumpet
  Chinese Block
8
   Tibia Clausa
  Tom Tom
8
   Salicional
  Sleigh Bells
8
   Flute
   
8
   Vox Humana
  Accomp. 2nd Touch
4
   Piccolo
  Trumpet
4
   Salicet     Chimes
4
   Flute     Triangle
4
   Vox Humana      
          3 Adjustable Combination Pistons
               (Accomp. & Pedal)

   

   
Solo (Manual II) – 61 notes
16
   Tibia Clausa (TC)
2 2/3
   Twelfth
16
   Contra Viol (TC)
2
   Piccolo (Tibia)
16
   Bourdon
2
   Piccolo
8
   Trumpet
  Cathedral Chimes
8
   Tibia Clausa
  Xylophone
8
   Salicional
  Glockenspiel
8
   Flute
   
8
   Vox Humana
  Solo. 2nd Touch
4
   Piccolo
16
   Trumpet (TC)
4
   Salicet
8
   Tibia Clausa
4
   Flute
   
2 2/3
   Twelfth (Tibia)
  3 Adjustable Combination Pistons
               (Solo & Pedal)

   

   
Tremulants (2)
General      
Vox Humana      
           
Effects (operated by toe pistons)
Sleigh Bells Auto Horn Steamboat Whistle
Horse Hoofs Fire Gong Siren
Surf Fire Gong (re-it) Tom Tom
Bird    
     
Door Bell (push button)  
           
  Carnegie Lyceum - New York City
  Carnegie Lyceum interior
Organ in Carnegie Lyceum:

M. P. Möller, Inc.
Hagerstown, Md. – Opus 1706 (1913)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 20 registers


The organ in the Carnegie Lyceum was originally built by Hilborne L. Roosevelt (1873, Opus 6) for the Church of the Strangers, located nearby on West 57th Street. When the church acquired a new M.P. Möller organ (Op. 1569) in 1913, Möller rebuilt the Roosevelt organ (as Op. 1706) with electro-pneumatic action and added a new Vox Humana, Chimes and console before moving it to the Carnegie Lyceum. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
           
Sources:
     Cinema Treasures web site: http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/6011
     Junchen, David L., comp. and ed. by Jeff Weiler. The WurliTzer Pipe Organ – An Illustrated History. Chicago: The American Theatre Organ Society, 2005.
     Kaufmann, Preston J. Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ, Vol. 3. Pasadena: Showcase Publications, 1995.
     Lafayette Theatre (Suffern, NY) web site: http://www.bigscreenclassics.com/indexlafayette.htm
     New York Theatre Organ Society web site: http://nytos.org/
     The Theatre Organ Home Page web site: http://theatreorgans.com/

Illustrations:
     www.aecom.com. Interior photos of Zankel Hall.
     Carnegie Hall Archives. Carnegie Lyceum interior. Courtesy Gino Francesconi, Archivist.
     Mesbur+Smith Architects: interior.
     New York Theatre Organ Society web site: console.