Church of the Redeemer
(Protestant Episcopal)

153 West 136th Street
New York, N.Y. 10030


Organ Specifications:
153 West 136th Street (1897-closed 1914)
► I/3 Hilborne L. Roosevelt, Op. 58 (1881)
Fourth Avenue at 82nd Street (1888-1897)
► I/9 J.H. & C.S. Odell, Op. 259 (1888)
230 East 85th Street (1853-1888)
• Hall & Labagh – second-hand (1869)
• I/10 Henry Erben (1853)


The Protestant Episcopal Church of the Redeemer was organized about 1852 to serve the Yorkville area of Manhattan. The first edifice, a brick church located on East 85th Street, was designed by J. Wood Johns in an early English style and measured 45 by 70 feet. This church had a commodious organ gallery, could seat nearly 400 persons, and cost about $7,500. The Rt. Rev. Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright, Bishop of New York, consecrated the church on June 1, 1853.

Protestant Episcopal Church of the Redeemer - New York City  
   
On November 24, 1887, the cornerstone was laid for a larger edifice at Fourth Avenue and 82nd Street. The new church occupied a lot 75 feet by 145 feet and was designed by W. H. Wood. Built of local trap rock, the church included a tower 28 feet square and 150 feet high. The interior was of buff brick with columns of polished stone, ornamented with caps and bases. The church had a capacity of 900 persons and cost $55,000.

In 1897, the congregation merged with the Church of the Holy Nativity in Harlem, located at 153 West 136th Street, where they remained until the church closed in 1914.
         
Hilborne L. Roosevelt
New York City – Opus 58 (1881)
Mechanical action
1 manual, 3 stops, 3 ranks


This small organ was built in 1881 by Hilborne L. Roosevelt for Holy Innocents Episcopal Church. The property was later occupied by the Church of the Holy Nativity (1889-1897) and then the Church of the Redeemer (1897-1914). At an unknown time, possibly when the church was sold in 1914, the Roosevelt organ was moved to a Methodist Church in Rochester, N.Y.
               
Manual – 58 notes
8
   Open Diapason, Treble
45
        
8
  Open Diapason, Bass
13
        
8
  Dulciana
58
        

           
Pedal – 13 notes
16
  Bourdon
13
     
               
Coupler
    Manual Octaves          
               
Mechanical Accessories
    Pedal Check    
    Bellows Signal      
           
Pedal Movements
    Forte    
    Crescendo    
           
Organ in church located on Fourth Avenue at 82nd Street:

J.H. & C.S. Odell
New York City – Opus 259 (1888)
Mechanical action
1 manual, 9 stops, 9 ranks
               
Manual Organ – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
61
4
   Gemshorn
61
8
   Open Diapason
61
2
  
Fifteenth
preparation
8
   Salicional
61
    
Mixture, 3 ranks
preparation
8
   Stopped Diapason
61
8
  
Trumpet
preparation
4
   Principal
61
8
   Oboe
61
4
   Flute Traverso
61
        
               
Pedal Organ – 27 notes
16
   Bourdon
27
        
               
Mechanical Registers
    Pedal Coupler          
    Bellows Signal          
    Balance Swell Pedal          
         
Organ in church located at 230 East 85th Street:

Hall & Labagh
New York City – second-hand (1869)
Mechanical action


The Hall & Labagh Ledger Books has an 1869 entry stating that a second-hand instrument was installed at Church of the Redeemer. This organ is reported to have been the 'former temporary organ at St. Thomas.' Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
           
Organ in church located at 230 East 85th Street:

Henry Erben
New York City (1853)
Mechanical action
1 manual, 10 stops


According to the American Musical Directory of 1861, this organ had "1 bank keys, 10 stops, 1½ octaves pedals" and was "Built by H. Erben, in 1853." Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
           
Sources:
     "A Rectorship in Dispute," The New York Times (Nov. 30, 1897).
     American Musical Directory. New York: Thomas Hutchinson, 1861.
     "Church of the Redeemer Reopened," The New York Times (Oct. 1, 1888).
     Glück, Sebastian. Specifications of Hilborne L. Roosevelt Organ, Op. 58 (1881).
     "Hilborne L. Roosevelt, Manufacturer of Church, Chapel, Concert and Chamber Organs," catalog pub. by Roosevelt Organ Works (Dec. 1888); republished by The Organ Literature Foundation (Braintree, Mass., 1978). Courtesy Sand Lawn and David Scribner.
     Inventory of the Church Archives of New York City. Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Diocese of New York (Manhattan, Bronx, Richmond, Vol. 2). New York: The Historical Records Survey Division of Professional and Service Projects, Work Projects Administration, 1940. Courtesy Wayne Kempton.
     Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
     Ochse, Orpha. "A Glimpse of the 1860s," The American Organist (November 1969).
     "Protestant Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, Yorkville," The New York Times (June 2, 1853).
     Trupiano, Larry. Electronic correspondence (9/5/2012) regarding second-hand Hall & Labagh organ.
     Trupiano, Larry. Factory Specifications of J.H. & C.S. Odell organ, Op. 259 (1888).

Illustration:
     Best, Stephen. Undated photo of church interior.