Church of the Holy Innocents - New York City (Postcard, c.1905)
1905 Postcard of Church
Click on images to enlarge
Church of the Holy Innocents
(Roman Catholic)

128 West 37th Street
New York, N.Y. 10017
http://innocents.com/

Organ Specifications:
Present building (since 1870):
• III/ Rodgers Instruments electronic Model 950-B
► II/8 Kilgen Organ Company, Op. 7064 (1950s)
► IV/62 George Jardine & Son (1879)
First building (1866-1870):
• II/20 George Jardine & Son (1858)





The parish of the Holy Innocents was formed in 1866 by Archbishop McCloskey from portions of St. Stephen's, St. Michael's, Holy Cross, Cathedral and St. Columba's parishes. Rev. John Larkin, a native of County Galway in Ireland who emmigrated to the U.S. in 1848, was appointed pastor of the new parish; he had previously served as assistant at St. Michael's. In November 1866, Father Larkin purchased the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Holy Innocents at the corner of 37th Street and Broadway; the old name was retained and the small frame building was converted for use as a Catholic chapel until a permanent church could be built.

Church of the Holy Innocents - New York City  
On June 20, 1869, the cornerstone was laid for the new church. As designed by Patrick C. Keely in the neo-Gothic style, the building was constructed of Ohio and Belleville mixed stone and measured 125 feet long by 70 feet wide. Facing due north on 37th Street, the façade has one main and two side entrances. Its interior is 42 feet high and is noted for the high altar of white marble that is surmounted by a fresco painting of the Crucifixion by Constantino Brumidi. The church was originally illuminated by 76 stained glass windows, although subsequent buildings in the area have greatly dimmed the interior. A total of 1,500 people can be accomodated in the nave and three side galleries. The completed church, built at a cost of $100,000, was dedicated on Sunday, February 13, 1870. Rev. Mooney of St. Bridget's Church officiated at the Solemn High Mass, and at the conclusion, Rev. William Starrs, Vicar-General, delivered an address. Music for the occasion was provided by a choir of forty voices, led by Mr. C. Berge at the piano, and the band of the Seventh Regiment.

A parochial school adjoining the church was built in 1872. For the first five or six years, the school was administered by the Sisters of Charity, after which the Christian Brothers were enlisted to provide instruction.

The third pastor, Rev. Michael C. O'Farrell, was appointed in January 1894. Under his direction, the interior and exterior of the church were renovated at a cost of $50,000. Parishioners donated a new high altar and two side altars of Carrara marble, the sanctuary railing, twenty stained glass windows from Munich, and many paintings and other mural decorations. Father O'Farrell also succeeded in paying off the indebtedness of $60,000, and on Tuesday, February 12, 1901, the church was consecrated by Archbishop Corrigan.

Today, Holy Innocents Church is located within the Garment District and is only a few blocks from Herald Square. For this reason, the church offers popular "shoppers' Masses."
               
Rodgers Instruments LLC
Hillsboro, Ore. – Model 950-B (1990s)
Electronic tonal production
3 manuals


Specifications for this organ are not yet available.
             
Kilgen Organ Company
St. Louis, Mo. – Opus 7064 (c.1950)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 19 stops, 8 ranks



By the 1950s, the 1879 Jardine organ had been allowed to fall into disrepair and was replaced by a small two-manual unit organ built by the Kilgen Organ Company of St. Louis. The following specifications were provided by Rollin Smith, noted organ historian and concert artist, who played noonday Masses here during his youth. Dr. Smith recalled, "I think I got $15 or $20 and I came in by subway from Brooklyn and then back home. The original choir library was still there, with about 65 copies of the Guilmant Mass in E-flat, plus dozens of other works. The church had obviously had a big choral program. There were two torchieres, one on either side of the organ bench, that lit the console. Since Palma Tarizzo had been organist there for so long, these were then known as 'Palma Lamps.' "
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Open Diapason  
8
   Dulciana  
8
   Melodia  
4
   Octave  
8
   Gross Flute  
4
   Flute  
8
   Viol da Gamba  
     
               
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon  
4
   Flute  
8
   Open Diapason  
2
   Flautino  
8
   Viol da Gamba  
8
   Orchestral Oboe (Syn.)  
8
   Melodia  
8
   Vox Humana  
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
   Bourdon  
8
   Double Flute  
8
   Bass Flute  
8
   Cello  
               
Couplers
    Great to Pedal   Great to Great 16', 4', Unison Off
    Swell to Pedal   Swell to Swell 16', 4', Unison Off
    Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'    
               
Combinations
    Rollin Smith recalls the organ had pistons, perhaps 4 each for Swell and Great plus 4 generals.
         
Pedal Movements
    Balanced Swell Pedal    
    Crescendo Pedal    
             
George Jardine & Son
New York City (1879)
Mechanical action
4 manuals, 87 registers, 59 stops, 62 ranks


The first known organ in the present church building was the work of George Jardine & Son of New York City. Built in 1879 as a cost $15,000, the organ had four manuals, a total of 87 registers (including coupler movements and combination pedals) and 3,246 pipes. It is interesting to note that this organ was several stops larger than the Jardine organ installed the same year in the new St. Patrick's Cathedral, and that neither organ had thirty-two foot Pedal stops, despite their large size. The "remarkably fine organ" in Holy Innocents was heard for the first time by a large congregation at high mass on Sunday, November 9, 1879, when Mr. Weinstein, organist of the church, led a choir of 14 voices in selections from Geirza's Masses, Nos. 1 and 2. That same evening, a public exhibition was given by several of the leading organists of New York and Brooklyn.
               
Great Organ – 58 notes
16
   Open Diapason
58
2
   Fifteenth
58
16
   Double Stopped Diapason
58
1 3/4 [sic]
   Tierce
58
8
   Grand Open Diapason
58
1 3/4 [sic]
   Larigot
58
8
   Open Diapason
58
1/2 [sic]
   Doublette
58
8
   Stopped Diapason
58
     Cornet, 2 ranks
116
4
   Principal
58
8
   Trumpet
58
4
   Flute Harmonic
58
4
   Clarion
58
3
   Twelfth
58
        
               
Swell Organ – 58 notes
16
   Bourdon
58
2
   Piccolo
58
8
   Open Diapason
58
     Sexquialtra, 2 ranks
116
8
   Stopped Diapason
58
          [soprano and bass]  
8
   Clariana
58
8
   Cornopean
58
4
   Principal
58
8
   Oboe
58
4
   Echo Flute
58
8
   Vox Humana
58
3
   Quint
58
        
               
Choir Organ – 58 notes
16
   Gamba
58
4
   Violino
58
8
   Dulciana
58
2
   Flageolet
58
8
   Lieblich Gedackt
58
     Dulcet Mixture, 2 ranks
116
         [soprano and bass]  
8
   Cremona
58
4
   Boehm Flute
58
        
               
Solo Organ – 58 notes
8
   Bell Diapason
58
2
   Flautino
58
8
   Melody Diapason
58
1 1/3
   Harmonic
58
8
   Salicional
58
1
   Acuta
58
8
   Clarinet Flute
58
8
   Song Trumpet
58
8
   Concert Flute
58
4
   Celestina
58
4
   Geigen Principal
58
     Chime of 30 bells  
3
   Nasard
58
        
               
Pedal Organ – 30 notes
16
   Double Open Diapason
30
4
   Gross Flute
30
16
   Contra Gamba
30
3
   Harmonique
30
16
   Bourdon
30
2
   Octave Flute
30
12
   Double Quint
30
16
   Trombone
30
8
   Violoncello
30
8
   Posaune
30
8
   Quintolophon
30
4
   Trumpet
30
               
Couplers
    Great to Pedal   Swell to Great
    Swell to Pedal   Swell to Choir
    Choir to Pedal   Solo to Great
    Solo to Pedal   Pedal to Pedal Octaves
         
Combination Pedals
    "9 registers"    
             
Organ in first building:

George Jardine & Son
New York City (1858)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 20 stops


The organ in the first building, originally Holy Innocents Protestant Episcopal Church, was built in 1858 by George Jardine & Son of New York City. According to the American Musical Directory (1861), the organ had "2 banks of keys, 20 stops, 1½ octaves of pedals" and was "Built by Jardine & Son, in 1858." Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
               
Sources:
     "A New Catholic Church," The New York Times (Feb. 14, 1870).
     American Musical Directory. New York: Thomas Hutchinson, 1861.
     The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X (Vol. III):330-331. New York: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914.
     Church of the Holy Innocents web site: http://innocents.com/
     Dunlap, David W. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
     General City News: Sale of a Church, The New York Times (Nov. 29, 1866).
     Ogasapian, John. Organ Building in New York City: 1700-1900. Braintree: The Organ Literature Foundation, 1977. Specifications of George Jardine & Son organ (1879).
     Religious News and Views: Holy Innocents to be Consecrated, The New York Times (Feb. 2, 1901).
     Shelley, Thomas J. The Bicentennial History of the Archdiocese of New York 1808-2008. Strasbourg: Éditions du Signe, 2007.
     Smith, Rollin. Specifications of Kilgen Organ Co. organ, Op. 7064 (c.1950).
     "Testing a New Organ," The New York Times (Nov. 10, 1879).

Illustrations:
     Church of the Holy Innocents web site. Interior.
     eBay.com. Postcard (1905) of exterior.