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First German Baptist Church
336 East 14th Street near First Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10003
Organ Specifications:
336 East 14th Street and First Avenue (1869-c.1920)
► II/13 George Jardine & Son (c.1869)
Sixth Street near Avenue C (1866-1869)
• unknown
Avenue A near Second Street (1850-1866)
• unknown
Stanton and Essex Streets (1846-1850)
• unknown |
The First German Baptist Church was organized in 1846 to serve the large number of German immigrant families living in "Klein Deutschland" ("Little Germany"). For their first four years, the congregation met at Stanton and Essex Streets, and in 1850 they removed to Avenue A near Second Street, where they remained for sixteen years. Following the Civil War, as many residents and churches relocated farther uptown, First German Baptist made plans for a new church, temporarily moving to Sixth Street near Avenue C until a site was purchased on East 14th Street, the northern boundary of Klein Deutschland. In 1866, Julius Boekell designed a fanciful Romanesque-style edifice that had a gabled facade with two narrow towers and many windows. Some sources state that the new church was opened in 1869. The German congregation merged or ceased to exist sometime after 1920.
In 1926, the building became the Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox Church of St. Volodymyr, and three onion domes were added. In 1962, St. Volodymyr moved to the Upper West Side, and the building was acquired by Congregation Tifereth Israel (Glory of Israel), known as the "Town and Village Synagogue," a Conservative congregation founded in 1949. Prior to their move, the Town and Country Synagogue had worshiped in the Labor Temple, located a block away at 242 East 14th Street. |
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George Jardine & Son
New York City (c.1869)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 13 stops, 13 ranks
The following specification of the Jardine organ at First German Baptist Church is from the files of Louis F. Mohr, Sr. (1862-1949), who worked for Roosevelt, Labagh & Kemp and Jardine before establishing, in 1899, an organ service firm in the Bronx, with a branch in Elizabeth, N.J. Mohr and his employees recorded the specifications of the organs they serviced, a practice continued by his son and successor, Louis F. Mohr, Jr. (1911-1985). Mohr's handwritten page, dated February 4, 1924, includes a circled number under each division: Great (7), Pedal (1), and Swell (5). For the Swell, it may be assumed that the St. Diap. was the 12-note bass for the Open Diapason and Viol d'Amour, and that the Bassoon was the bass for the Trumpet stop. Mohr describes the ash case as having a "width 14' wide + 2' 9" for console at C end; depth 4' + overhang of 12" at height of 7'2"; height about 18' high." The 27 front pipes were painted gold, with the bottom part in green and feet in dark gray. Mohn also wrote "Hand [lever] which has been changed by one of choir church members to tred by foot German style." Wind pressure likely 3". |
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Great Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes
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8 |
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Open Diapason |
58 |
4 |
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Flute |
58 |
8 |
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Gamba |
58 |
2 2/3 |
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Quint |
58 |
8 |
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Melodia |
58 |
2 |
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Piccolo |
58 |
4 |
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Principal |
58 |
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Swell Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes, enclosed
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8 |
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Open Diapason [TC] |
46 |
2 |
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Flageolet |
58 |
8 |
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Viol d'Amour [TC] |
46 |
8 |
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Bassoon [Bass] |
12 |
8 |
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Stopped Diapason [Bass] |
12 |
8 |
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Trumpet [TC] |
46 |
4 |
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Violana |
58 |
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Pedal Organ – 27 notes
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16 |
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Bourdon |
27 |
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Couplers
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Great to Pedal |
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Swell to Great |
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Swell to Pedal |
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Mechanicals
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Tremolo |
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Balance Swell Pedal |
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Bellows Signal |
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Sources:
Dunlap, David. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
Haberstroh, Richard. The German Churches of Metropolitan New York: A Research Guide. New York: The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, 2000.
Columbia University Historic Preservation Studio 2005-2006 web site: http://www.arch.columbia.edu/hp/studio/2005-2006
Fox, David H. A Guide to North American Organbuilders (Rev. ed.). Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.
Mohr, Louis F. Specification of George Jardine & Son Organ (c. 1869). Courtesy Larry Trupiano.
Illustration:
Columbia University Historic Preservation Studio 2005-2006 web site. Exterior of 14th Street church (1916). |
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