Holy Cross School (c.1914) - New York City
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Holy Cross Academy
(Roman Catholic)

332 West 43rd Street
New York, N.Y. 10036



Holy Cross Academy was founded by the Sisters of Charity in the fall of 1858 as an exclusive school for young girls. After the Civil War, the sisters bought seven lots adjoining their property on the Forty-third Street side, where twenty years later their industrial school was built. In the courtyard, between the two six-story buildings and connecting them, was the Chapel of Mater Dolorosa. In 1903, the industrial school courses were abandoned and a coeducational elementary school was established in its place.

By the 1970s, the neighborhood had worsened, enrollment had declined, and the academy's buildings were deteriorating. In the fall of 1972, the sisters decided to close the school and sell the property to a real estate developer. The buildings were razed and a parking lot existed in their place for many years.

Holy Cross Academy was owned and operated by the Sisters of Charity and was not associated with the adjacent Holy Cross Church.
               
J.H. & C.S. Odell & Co.
New York City – Opus 252 (1888)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 11 registers, 9 stops, 9 ranks



In April 1888, the J.H. & C.S. Odell Company of New York City contracted to build an organ costing $1,515 for the Chapel of Mater Dolorosa at Holy Cross Academy. Odell's organ was based on their standard "Specification No. 7" but altered to include a 46-note Swell Oboe. In 1973, the chapel was razed and the organ was removed by the Organ Clearing House. In 1977, the organ was purchased by the Congregational Church of Acton, Mass., who had the organ rebuilt by the Andover Organ Co. of Methuen, Mass.
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes
8
   Open Diapason
58
8
   Melodia (TC)
46
8
   Dulciana (TC)
46
4
   Octave
58
8
   Unison Bass
12
        

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes, enclosed
8
   Viola (TC)
46
4
   Rohr Flute
58
8
   Stopped Diapason Bass
12
8
   Oboe (TC)
46
8
   Stopped Diapason (TC)
46
     Tremolo  
               
Pedal Organ – 27 notes
16
   Bourdon
27
        
               
Mechanical Registers
    Swell to Great       Bellows Signal  
    Swell to Pedal       Balanced Swell Pedal  
    Great to Pedal          
               
Sources:
     Afton Congregational Church (Acton, Mass.) website: http://www.actonc.org
     Church of the Holy Cross website: http://holycrossnyc.com
     "Crucifixion Mural to Fall With School," The New York Times (Apr. 13, 1973).
     "42d St. Academy To Mark Century," The New York Times (May 4, 1958).
     "Holy Cross Academy Marks Its 75th Year," The New York Times (May 7, 1933).
     Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
     Trupiano, Larry. Contract and specifications of J.H. & C.S. Odell organ, Op. 252 (1888).

Illustration:
     The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X, Vol. III. New York: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914. Exterior (c.1914).