Ernest Levy Residence

1160 Park Avenue at 92nd Street
New York, N.Y. 10128


Ernest Levy was born in Germany in 1853, and at the age of 24 emmigrated to the United States with his brother, Hermann, after spending several months as traders in the diamond fields of the Transvaal, South Africa. In 1878, Ernest Levy walked into a New York auction room to get out of the cold. When he raised his hand to wipe his brow, the auctioneer took it as a signal for a $50 bid, and Ernest suddenly had a "jag of ribbon" knocked down to him. After selling the ribbon at a profit, Ernest and Hermann decided that the future lay in ribbons and established the Ernest & Hermann Levy company. The Levy brothers built their business slowly but well, and by 1922 the company had evolved to become the Century Ribbon Mills, Inc.

Little else is known about Ernest Levy, but in 1925 he was one of three donors to save St. James' Protestant Episcopal Church, also known as "the Church of the Presidents," in Elberon, N.J. Ernest also built the West End Casino in West End, N.J.

At the end of his life, Ernest Levy lived at 1160 Park Avenue, a fourteen-story apartment building designed by George T. Pelham and built in 1925. He died at the age of 76 on January 21, 1929.
           
M. P. Möller, Inc.
Hagerstown, Md. – Opus 4781 (1926)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 20 stops, 6 ranks


The Möller Factory Specification, dated August 2, 1926, shows that Op. 4781 was voiced on 5" wind pressure, and had a detached stop-key console and a Solo Self Player. The organ was to be completed by January 1927.
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Open Diapason
61
4
   Flute d'Amour
SW
8
   Rohr Flute
SW
2
   Piccolo
SW
8
   Salicional
73
8
   Vox Humana
61
8
   Vox Celeste [TC]
61
        

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
97
8
   Open Diapason
GT
8
   Stopped Flute
—
8
   Salicional
GT
4
   Orchestral Flute
—
8
   Vox Celeste [TC]
GT
2 2/3
   Flute Twelfth
—
8
   Oboe [Syn.]
—
2
   Piccolo
—
8
   Vox Humana
GT
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
   Bourdon
32
8
   Flute Dolce
SW
16
   Lieblich Gedeckt
SW
        
               
Couplers
    Great to Pedal   Swell 16', 4', Unison Separation
    Swell to Pedal   Great 16', 4', Unison Separation
    Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'    
               
Mechanicals
    Tremulant       Crescendo Indicator  
               
Adjustable Combinations
    Pistons No. 1-2-3 Affecting Great and Pedal Stops
    Pistons No. 1-2-3 Affecting Swell and Pedal Stops
               
Pedal Movements
    Balanced Swell Pedal   Great to Pedal Reversible
    Balanced Crescendo Pedal    
           
Sources:
     "Big Ribbon Mills Had An Odd Start," The New York Times (Oct. 18, 1953).
     "Ernest Levy, 76, Dies; Ribbon Manufacturer," The New York Times (Jan. 22, 1929).
     "Three Large Donors to Elberon Chapel," The New York Times (Aug. 25, 1925).
     Trupiano, Larry. Factory Specifications (Aug. 2, 1926) of M.P. Möller organ, Op. 4781.