| |
 |
| |
Click on most images to enlarge |
Holyrood Episcopal Church
715 West 179th Street at Fort Washington Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10033
www.holyroodsantacruz.org
Organ Specifications:
715 West 179th Street (since 1914)
• II/ unknown electronic
► III/40 Reuben Midmer & Son (1918)
181st Street and Broadway (1895-1914)
• unknown |
 |
|
| Original building at 181st Street & Broadway |
|
The Holyrood Church (Holyrood means "Holy Crucifix" or "Holy Cross") was founded as a Protestant Episcopal congregation in 1893 by Rev. William Oliver Embury, who was chaplain of The House of Refuge for Problem Girls, and was operated by the Sisters of St. Mary in Inwood Hill Park. In 1895, a country-style church with a tower designed by R.D. Chandler and built on upper Broadway at what is now 181st Street.
On November 16, 1901, the church was involved with the dedication of the Fort Washington Memorial Plaque. This plaque is located on the Fort Washington side of Bennett Park, located on Fort Washington Avenue between 183rd and 185th Street. There had been a procession from the church when it was at the Broadway location. The bell in the Parish House reflects the story of the War for Independence with a quote: “On battlefield, where foemen fell, the glorious tale of peace I tell.”
 |
|
| Present building (photo: Percy Loomis Sperr,1929) |
|
By 1910 the area had become more densely populated, and a new church was built on the northeast corner of Fort Washington Avenue and 179th Street. Designed in the Gothic style by Bannister & Schell, the completed church was opened in 1914.
Today the building is shared with Iglesia Santa Cruz (Church of the Holy Cross).
The George Washington Bridge Bus Station, opened in 1963, is located directly across the street to the south. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reuben Midmer & Son
Brooklyn, N.Y. (1918)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 36 stops, 40 ranks
The first organ in the present church building was originally built In 1840 By Thomas Robjohn of New York City for St. John's Chapel (Trinity Parish) on Varick Street. Henry Erben of New York City rebuilt and enlarged the organ in 1874. Around 1913, the City widened Varick Street and St. John's Chapel was razed. The organ was moved to Holyrood Church after it was rebuilt and electrified by Reuben Midmer & Son. At some point, Midmer-Losh (successor firm to Midmer & Son) provided a new electro-pneumatic action. In 1955, the organ was discarded and replaced by an electronic. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Great Organ (Manual II)
|
16 |
|
Double Open Diapason |
|
2 2/3 |
|
Twelfth |
|
8 |
|
Open Diapason |
|
2 |
|
Fifteenth |
|
8 |
|
Viol di Gamba |
|
|
|
Mixture 3 ranks |
|
8 |
|
Stopped Diapason |
|
|
|
Sesquialtera (2 ranks?) |
|
8 |
|
Dulciana |
|
8 |
|
Trumpet |
|
4 |
|
Octave |
|
4 |
|
Clarion |
|
4 |
|
Wald Flute |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Swell Organ (Manual III), enclosed
|
16 |
|
Bourdon |
|
2 |
|
Piccolo |
|
8 |
|
Open Diapason |
|
|
|
Cornet, 3 ranks |
|
8 |
|
Salicional |
|
8 |
|
Cornopean |
|
8 |
|
Aeoline |
|
8 |
|
Oboe |
|
8 |
|
Stopped Diapason |
|
8 |
|
Vox Humana |
|
4 |
|
Fugara |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Choir Organ (Manual I)
|
8 |
|
Open Diapason |
|
4 |
|
Principal |
|
8 |
|
Melodia |
|
4 |
|
Flauto Traverso |
|
8 |
|
Dulciana |
|
2 |
|
Fifteenth |
|
8 |
|
Stopped Diapason |
|
8 |
|
Clarinet |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pedal Organ
|
32 |
|
Resultant |
|
16 |
|
Bourdon |
|
16 |
|
Open Diapason |
|
8 |
|
Violoncello |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sources:
Bolton, Reginald Pelham. Fort Washington. New York: The Empire State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, 1902.
Dunlap, David W. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
Holyrood Church website: www.holyroodsantacruz.org
Ogasapian, John. Organ Building in New York City: 1700-1900. Braintree: The Organ Literature Foundation, 1977.
Renner, James. "Holyrood Episcopal Church," article in Washington Heights and Inwood Online.
Illustrations:
Bolton, Reginald Pelham. Fort Washington. Exterior of original church.
Glück, Sebastian M. Reuben Midmer & Son organ case.
Grassroots Animal Rights Conference web site. Exterior and interior
Percy Loomis Sperr. Exterior (1929) |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
