Alvin W. Krech Residence - New York City (Wurts Bros., c. 1910)
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Alvin W. Krech Residence

17 East 70th Street
New York, N.Y. 10021






Alvin William Krech, one of the prominent figures in American finance and industry, was born in Hannibal, Missouri, on May 25, 1858, the son of German parents who had fled the Prussian Revolution. He was educated in the public schools, and his first job was with the Holly Flouring Company of Minneapolis. In 1886, Krech became interested in the more profitable railroad industry, and from that year until 1892 was actively engaged in railroad construction in the firm of Shepard, Siems & Co. He then became involved in the affairs of the insolvent Union Pacific Railroad, serving as secretary of the reorganization committee in New York City. In 1903, he was elected president of the Equitable Trust Company, a position he held until 1923, when he resigned that post to become Chairman of the Board. Krech is credited for the construction of the 40-story Equitable Trust Building at 120 Broadway, one of the largest structures built until that time in New York. Alvin W. Krech was the director of several companies, including the Manhattan Railway Company, the Western Maryland Railroad, the Norfolk and Southern Railroad, the Wabash Railroad, the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, the American Ice Company, and other railroad and industrial corporations. He was on the board of directors of the Metropolitan Opera Association and of the Philharmonic Society. The governments of France, Italy and Romania honored him for his rehabilitation work after World War I.

Krech was also very active in St. Bartholomew's Protestant Episcopal Church, serving as a Vestryman, Senior Warden, and Chairman of the Art Committee. It was Krech who drafted the recommendation that architect Bertram Goodhue be hired to design the present edifice on Park Avenue. In 1926, Krech privately researched styles of church decoration, concluding that the Byzantine style was the forerunner of all other styles. Krech then convinced the church authorities to adopt the "Byzantinization" of Goodhue's neo-Romanesque interior with the addition of primative Byzantine mosaics in the apse and narthex.

Alvin W. Krech was married twice. His first wife was Caroline Shepard, to whom he was married in December, 1884, and they had two children: Alvin and Shepard. Caroline died in 1892, and in September, 1895, he was married to Angeline Jackson, and they had four children: Angeline, Jackson, Helen and Margaret.

Alvin and Angeline Krech lived at 17 East 70th Street in a French neoclassical limestone town house designed by Arthur C. Jackson of Heins & La Farge and built from 1909-11. In October, 1927, the town house was sold to LeRoy W. Baldwin, President of the Empire Trust Company, and the Krech family moved to 907 Fifth Avenue at 72nd Street. During summer months, the Krech family lived in Southampton. The town house was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1974.

On May 3, 1928, Alvin W. Krech died suddenly of a heart attack as he sat at his desk in the Equitable Trust Company building. His funeral was held at St. Bartholomew's Church on May 7, 1928.
           
  Aeolian Organ, Op. 1143 (1910) in the Alvin W. Krech Residence - New York City (Wurts Bros., c. 1910)
Aeolian Company
New York City – Opus 1143 (1910)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 41 stops, 36 ranks




The Aeolian organ in Mr. Krech's townhouse was installed in the Music Hall, located on the second floor. The Aeolian Company Specification, dated April 6, 1910, shows that the organ would be completed on or about October 1, 1910. On the marked-up shop notes, the word "Knob" is pencilled in the margin, suggesting that this organ had a drawknob console.
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed (4" wind pressure)
8
   Diapason F
61
4
   Flute F
61
8
   Diapason MF
61
8
   Flute P
61
4
   Diapason (high)
61
4
   Flute (high)
61
    Diapason (mixture, 4 rks)
244
8
   Trumpet
61
8
   String F
61
8
   Clarinet
61
8
   String P
61
     Tremolo  

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed (4" wind pressure)
8
   Diapason
61
16
   Flute (deep)
61
8
   String F
61
8
   Flute
61
8
   String F Vibrato [TC]
49
4
   Flute (high)
61
8
   String P
61
8
   Oboe
61
8
   String PP
61
     Tremolo  
    String (mixture, 5 ranks)
305
        
               
Choir Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed (Compounded from Manual I)
8
   Diapason F
GT
8
   Flute F
GT
8
   Diapason MF
GT
8
   Flute P
GT
4
   Diapason (high)
GT
4
   Flute (high)
GT
    Diapason (mixture, 4 rks)
GT
8
   Trumpet
GT
8
   String F
GT
8
   Clarinet
GT
8
   String P
GT
        
               
Echo Organ (playable from either Manuals I, Ii and III) – 61 notes, enclosed (3½" wind pressure)
8
   String PP
61
8
   Flute (Quintadena)
61
8
   String P Vibrato [TC]
49
8
   Vox Humana
61
8
   Flute
61
     Tremolo  
               
Pedal Organ – 30 notes (3½" and 4" wind pressure)
16
   Diapason (deep)
30
16
   Flute (deep)
SW
16
   Flute (deep)
30
8
   Flute
30
               
Percussion Instrument
   
Chimes
20 notes
    Blank knob, to be prepared for only, playable from either Manuals I and II
               
Couplers
    Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'     Choir to Great 16', 8', 4'
    Swell to Choir     Choir Octave, Sub-Octave, Release
    Swell Octave, Sub-Octave, Release   Choir to Pedal 8', 4'
    Swell to Pedal 8', 4'     Echo to Great
    Great Octave, Sub-Octave, Release   Echo to Swell
    Great to Pedal 8', 4'     Echo to Choir
               
Combination Pistons
   
Four pistons to Manual I Forte, Mezzo, Piano, Release
Four pistons to Manual II Forte, Mezzo, Piano, Release
Four pistons to Manual III Forte, Mezzo, Piano, Release
               
Aeolienne
   
Normal
}
  
Reverse
}
 Aeolienne Control, 116-note Music
Unison
}
  
  Pedal Release
      Aeolian Tempo
      Aeolian Ventil
    Control, 58-note music   Aeolian Reroll

     

     
Accessories
    Sforzando Pedal   Expression Pedal #2, Swell Organ
    Tonal or Crescendo Pedal   Expression Pedal #3, Echo Organ
    Expression Pedal #1, Great & Choir Organ   Great to Pedal Reversible
           
Sources:
     "Alvin Krech Home is Sold to Banker," The New York Times, October 22, 1927.
     "Alvin W. Krech Dies Suddenly At Desk," The New York Times, May 4, 1928.
     Harrison, Mitchell C., comp. Prominent and Progressive Americans, an Encyclopædia of Contemporaneous Biography, Vol. I. New York: New York Tribune Association, 1902.
     Dolkart, Andrew S. and Matthew A. Postal. Guide to New York City Landmarks (Third Edition). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2004.
     "Death of Krech," Time Magazine, May 14, 1928.
     Smith, Christine. St. Bartholomew's Church in the City of New York. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1988.
     Smith, Rollin. The Aeolian Pipe Organ and its Music. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1998.
     Trupiano, Larry. Factory Specification and shop notes for Aeolian Organ, Op. 1143 (1910).

Illustrations:
     Wurts Bros. (New York, N.Y.), c.1910. Exterior; Music Hall showing Aeolian Organ, Op. 1143 (1910).