South Reformed Church at 1010 Park Avenue - New York City (postcard, ca. 1945)
  Click on images to enlarge
South Reformed Dutch Church

1010 Park Avenue at 85th Street
New York, N.Y. 10028

Organ Specifications:
1010 Park Avenue at 85th Street (1911-1914)
• III/47 Hilborne L. Roosevelt, Op. 300 (1886); reb. Austin (1911)
245 Madison Avenue at 38th Street (1890-1911)
► III/47 Hilborne L. Roosevelt, Op. 300 (1886)
► II/17 Frank Roosevelt, Op. 401 (1888)
141 Fifth Avenue at 21st Street (1849-1890)
► III/47 Hilborne L. Roosevelt, Op. 300 (1886)
• III/48 Thomas Robjohn (1858)
Murray Street (1837-1847)
• Henry Erben (1838)
Garden Street (now Exchange Place)
Second building (1807-burned 1837)
• Hall & Erben (1824)
First building (1693-1807)
• unidentified Chamber Organ given (c.1727)

 
Garden Street  
The South Reformed Dutch Church was one of the first religious societies to be established in New York City, and was part of the Collegiate Church. The first church building was completed in 1693, and the society was known as the Garden Street Church, due to its location on Garden Street (now Exchange Place). In 1807, a new church building was erected on the same site. As additional churches were built by the Collegiate Church, the Garden Street Church, being the southernmost congregation, was called the "South Church," a name it would retain even after separating from the Collegiate Church in 1812. After the second church burned in 1837, the congregation built a new church on Murray Street, where they remained until 1847.

  South Reformed Church (Fifth Avenue & 21st Street) - New York City
  Fifth Avenue & 21st Street
Following the northward movement of residents, Old South Church sold its building to the Fourth Universalist Society and built a new Gothic Revival-style church on Fifth Avenue at 21st Street. The congregation remained at this location for more than forty years, but by the late 1880s many members had moved further uptown as businesses replaced residential areas around the church.

South Reformed Dutch Church on Madison Avenue at 38th Street - New York City  
Madison Avenue & 38th Street  
In 1890, Old South Church purchased the former Zion Protestant Episcopal Church, a Gothic edifice built in 1854 and located on Madison Avenue at 38th Street. Here the congregation enjoyed a relatively stable existence for the next two decades until businesses once again took over the immediately neighborhood.

The church's final building was on Park Avenue and 85th Street, at the time a developing residential neighborhood made more appealing when the railroad tracks along Fourth (Park) Avenue were covered over. Constructed between 1909-11, the French Gothic edifice was designed by Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson, and is often compared with the Sainte-Chapelle because of its 70-foot flèche. Over the entrance was carved the Dutch inscription, "EEN DRACHT MAKT MACHT (In Unity There Is Strength).

Old South Church enjoyed its new building only three years before formally disbanding in 1914. That same year, the remaining congregation merged with the First Union Presbyterian Church and was known as the Park Avenue Presbyterian Church. In 1937, Park Avenue Presbyterian merged with the Brick Presbyterian Church, and the combined congregation worshiped in the Old South Church building until 1940, when the new and present Brick Church was opened on Park Avenue and 91st Street. In 1945, the building was purchased by Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and was renamed Park Avenue Christian Church.
           
Organ in church at 1010 Park Avenue at 85th Street:

Hilborne L. Roosevelt
New York City – Opus 300 (1886); reb. Austin (1911)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals


For their new church building on Park Avenue, Old South Church contracted with the Austin Organ Company to move and rebuild the 1886 Hilborne L. Roosevelt from the previous church. Specifications for this rebuild have not yet been located.
           
  Frank Roosevelt Organ, Op. 401 (1888) in Zion Protestant Episcopal Church, Madison Avenue at 38th Street - New York City (Diocese of New York Archives)
Organ in church located at 245 Madison Avenue:

Frank Roosevelt
New York City – Opus 401 (1888)
Tracker-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 17 stops, 17 ranks


In 1890, Old South Church moved to the former Zion Episcopal Church on Madison Avenue at 38th Street. Only two years earlier, in 1888, Zion Church had purchased a Frank Roosevelt organ, his Op. 401. It is not known if Old South Church retained Roosevelt Op. 401, or if they had the larger Hilborne Roosevelt organ, Op. 300, moved from their Fifth Avenue church, as it was a much larger instrument and only four years old. We do know that the 1886 Roosevelt organ (Op. 300) was rebuilt by Austin and moved, in 1911, to their last church on Park Avenue and 85th Street.
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes
8
   Open Diapason
58
4
   Flute Harmonique
58
8
   Doppel Flöte
58
4
   Octave
58
8
   Dulciana
58
        

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
58
4
   Hohl Flöte
58
8
   Violin Diapason
58
4
   Gemshorn
58
8
   Viole di Gamba
58
8
   Cornopean
58
8
   Stopped Diapason
58
8
   Oboe
58
8
   Dolce
58
     Tremulant

     

     
Pedal Organ – 30 notes
16
   Open Diapason
30
8
   Violoncello
30
16
   Bourdon
30
        
           

  Cover: "Organ Recitals (3rd Series) '87-'88 by Gerrit Smith" - Old South Church - New York City
  Recital Program Cover
Organ in church at 141 Fifth Avenue at 21st Street:

Hilborne L. Roosevelt
New York City – Opus 300 (1886)
Tracker-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 40 stops, 47 ranks



In 1886, Hilborne L. Roosevelt built an organ for Old South Church, reusing many pipes and the Gothic organ case built by Thomas Robjohn in 1848.

Click here to see the Roosevelt specification as printed in a recital program given by Gerrit Smith, organist of the church.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes
16
   Double Open Diapason
58
4
   Flute Harmonique *
58
8
   Open Diapason
58
2 2/3
   Octave Quint *
58
8
   Bell Diapason
58
2
   Super Octave *
58
8
   Viola di Gamba
58
     Mixture, 4 ranks *
232
8
   Doppel Flöte
58
8
   Trumpet *
58
4
   Octave *
58
    
* enclosed in Choir swell-box

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 58 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon, Treble and Bass
58
4
   Hohl Flöte
58
8
   Open Diapason
58
2
   Flageolet
58
8
   Flute à Pavillon
58
     Cornet, 3, 4 & 5 ranks
230
8
   Salicional
58
16
   Contra Fagotto
58
8
   Dolce
58
8
   Cornopean
58
8
   Stopped Diapason
58
8
   Oboe
58
4
   Octave
58
8
   Vox Humana
58
               
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes, enclosed
8
   Geigen Principal
58
4
   Fugara
58
8
   Dulciana
58
4
   Flute d'Amour
58
8
   Concert Flute
58
2
   Piccolo Harmonique
58
8
   Quintadena
58
8
   Clarinet
58

     

     
Pedal Organ – 30 notes
16
   Open Diapason
30
8
   Violoncello
30
16
   Dulciana
30
8
   Flute
30
16
   Bourdon
30
16
   Trombone
30
10 2/3
   Quint
30
        
               
Couplers
    Swell to Great   Swell to Pedal
    Choir to Great   Great to Pedal
    Swell to Choir   Choir to Pedal
    Swell Octave on Itself    
               
Roosevelt Patent Adjustable Combination Pistons
    Four under Great keys affecting Great and Pedal stops and couplers
    Five under Swell keys affecting Swell stops and couplers
    Three under Choir keys affecting Choir stops and couplers
               
Pedal Movements
    Two Adjustable Combination Pedals affecting Pedal stops
    Great to Pedal Reversible Coupler
    Balanced Swell Pedal
    Balanced Choir Pedal
               
Mechanical Accessories
    Swell Tremulant   Eclipse Indicator for Manual Bellows
    Choir Tremulant   Eclipse Indicator for Pedal Bellows
    Combination Release   Belt shifter for both Bellows
    Bellows Signal    

           
Organ in church at 141 Fifth Avenue at 21st Street:

Thomas Robjohn
New York City (1858)
Mechanical action
3 manuals, 48 stops


According to the American Musical Directory of 1861, the South Reformed Church on Fifth Av. c W. 21st st. had an organ (when completed) with "3 banks keys, 48 stops, 2½ octaves pedals. Built by T. Robjohn." Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
           
Organ in church located in Murray Street:

Henry Erben
New York City (1838)
Mechanical action


Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
           
Organ in church located in Garden Street:

Hall & Erben
New York City (1824)
Mechanical action


Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
           
Organ in church located in Garden Street:

Unidentified Builder
Chamber Organ (c.1727)
Mechanical action


Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
           
Sources:
     American Musical Directory. New York: Thomas Hutchinson, 1861.
     Booth, Mary Louise. History of the City of New York. New York: W.R.C. Clark, 1867.
     Buhrman, T. Scott. "Directory of New York's Organ World," The American Organist (July 1939).
     Cameron, Peter T. "A Chronology of the Organ Builders Working in New York City from the Mid-eighteenth Century to the Early Twentieth Century," The Bicentennial Tracker. Richmond: Organ Historical Society, Inc., 1976.
     Glück, Sebastian. Specifications of Frank Roosevelt Organ, Op. 401 (1888).
     "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.
     "Organ Recitals (3rd Series) '87-'88 by Gerrit Smith – Old South Church," with Specifications of Hilborne L. Roosevelt Organ, Op. 300 (1886). Courtesy James Lewis.
     Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
     Ogasapian, John. Organ Building in New York City: 1700-1900. Braintree: The Organ Literature Foundation, 1977.

Illustrations:
     Booth, Mary Louise. History of the City of New York. New York: W.R.C. Clark, 1867: Garden Street Church.
     Episcopal Diocese of New York Archives. Exterior and interior of Zion Episcopal Church. Courtesy Wayne Kempton.
     "Organ Recitals (3rd Series) '87-'88 by Gerrit Smith – Old South Church." Courtesy James Lewis.
     Postcard (ca. 1945) of Park Avenue Christian Church.
           
| NYC AGO Home Page | Back to NYC Organ Project List |