St. Stephen of Hungary Catholic Church - New York City
 
Click on images to enlarge
Church of St. Stephen of Hungary
(Roman Catholic)

414 East 82nd Street
New York, N.Y. 10028
http://www.saintstephenofhungary.org


Organ Specifications:
414 East 82nd Street (since 1927)
► II/12 Geo. Kilgen & Son, Op. 4237 (1929); rev.
420 East 14th Street (1905-1927)
► I/2 Hilborne L. Roosevelt, Op. 49 (1879)


Romeyn Chapel (Presbyterian) - New York City (Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church Archives)  
St. Stephen of Hungary Church, the pride and joy of New York's Hungarian Roman Catholic community, began under very modest circumstances on the Lower East Side. The year was 1901. Upon the formation of the parish and the arrival of the Rev. Laszlo Perenyi from Eger, Hungary, the former Romeyn Presbyterian Chapel at 420 East 14th Street was purchased. Consecration of the altar occurred on November 6, 1904. As the congregation continued to expand with a sizeable number of them residing uptown, it was decided to erect a new combination of church, parochial school, community center, and adjoining rectory in Yorkville.

The architect chosen to draw up the plans for the new edifice was Emil J. Szendy. Construction began on St. Stephen's day, August 20, in 1927. As completed, Szendy's creation was built of light brick and sandstone with an archway at the center for the entrance to the church. To either side of the main entrance were entrances for the pupils of the school. The church, occupying the main story, seated 1,000 while the auditorium in the basement could accommodate 600. The school, situated on the upper floors, included 12 classrooms and two kindergarten rooms.

  St. Stephen of Hungary Catholic Church - New York City
Official consecration of the church on December 2, 1928, was presided over by Cardinal Hayes, followed by a lavish banquet at the Hotel Astor. A flyer announcing the event also contained a stern rebuke: Nem igazi magyar katholikus az, aki erről az ünnepségekről ok nélkül távolmarad! (He who is absent from these ceremonies without reason is not a true Hungarian Catholic!) In response, some 10,000 of the faithful were present on the appointed day. The dignitaries included the Consul General of Hungary, representatives of the Hungarian government, with the dedication Mass celebrated by Msgr. Janos Csiszarik, emissary of the Cardinal Primate of Hungary.

After World War II the church became an important center for a wide variety of actions directed at the Soviet Union occupying Hungary and their Communist minions; a role that was reinforced in the aftermath of the 1956 uprising.
 
Geo. Kilgen & Son
St. Louis, Mo. – Opus 4237 (1929)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 25 stops, 12 ranks


The 1929 Kilgen organ is enclosed in two expression chambers in the gallery of the church. New pipework was added by the Schantz Organ Company of Orrville, OH, including the Trompette and Mixture ranks, and extensions of the upper octaves. Schantz also made the original First Open Diapason playable in the Pedal. In 1995, Austin Organs, Inc. installed a new two-manual console on the existing movable platform.
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
  Open Diapason [unit]
85
2
  Clarabella [ext.]
—
8
  Clarabella [unit]
85
1 1/3
  Larigot +
—
4
   Octave
—
  Mixture III ranks *
183
4
   Clarabella
—
8
   Clarinet
61
2 2/3
  Clarabella
—
     Tremolo  
2
   Super Octave *
—
    
+ top octave from SW Gedeckt

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
  Gedeckt [unit]
85
2 2/3
  Twelfth
—
8
  Salicional
73
2
   Fifteenth *
GT
8
  Vox Celeste
73
    Mixture III ranks *
GT
4
   Principal
GT
8
   Trompette *
85
4
   Flute
—
4
   Clarion *
—

     

     
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
  Bourdon [unenclosed]
44
8
   Flute [ext.]
—
16
   Echo Bourdon [ext. SW Ged.]
12
4
   Choral Bass [ext.]
—
8
   Octave [orig. 1st O. Diap.]
44
        
           
* added by Schantz Organ Company
Couplers
    Great to Pedal 8', 4'   Great 16', 4', Unison Off
    Swell to Pedal 8', 4'   Swell 16', 4', Unison Off
    Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'    
             
Expression
    Balanced Great Pedal    
    Balanced Swell Pedal    
    Crescendo Pedal    
           
Organ in former church located at 420 East 14th Street:

Hilborne L. Roosevelt
New York City – Opus 49 (1897)
Mechanical action
1 manual, 2 stops


This small organ was built in 1897 by Hilborne L. Roosevelt for the Romeyn Chapel of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. It is possible that this organ remained with the building when it was sold in 1905 to St. Stephen of Hungary Church. The following specification was recorded by F.R. Webber in one of his "Organ Scrapbooks," now in the collection of The Organ Historical Society Archives in Princeton, N.J.
               
Manual – 58 notes
8
   Open Diapason
58
        
16
   Bourdon bass [C1-B13]
13
        
           
Sources:
     Beszedits, Stephen. "New York City's Hungarian Churches," Vasváry Collection Newsletter (Feb. 2005).
     Dunlap, David W. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
     St. Stephen of Hungary web site: http://www.saintstephenofhungary.org
     Webber, F.R. "Organ scrapbook" at Organ Historical Society Archives, Princeton, N.J. Specifications of Roosevelt organ, Op. 49 (1879). Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.

Illustrations:
     Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church Archives: Romeyn Chapel exterior.
     St. Stephen of Hungary website: interior.
     Vasváry Collection Newsletter (Feb. 2005). Exterior.