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Town Hall was built between 1919-21 as designed by Teunis J. van der Bent of McKim, Mead & White. The League for Political Education, who were energetic suffragists campaigning for the 19th Amendment (women's right to vote), created a meeting hall which would serve as forum for its members, and as a venue for educating the public on important issues of the times. The Colonial Revival-style auditorium democratically eliminated box seats, and there were no columns to obstruct sight lines, giving birth to the phrase, "Not a bad seat in the house." The 19th Amendment was passed during completion of the building, which opened on January 12, 1921. Almost immediately after its opening, the hall was in demand for concerts and theatrical events. Lectures and speaking engagements were given by prominent figures of the times, including Theodore Roosevelt, Booker T. Washington, Margaret Sanger, Buckminster Fuller, Winston Churchill, and Woodrow Wilson. Town Hall is also known for the American Town Meetings of the Air radio program broadcast during the 30s, 40s and 50s; the many historic lectures and debates; and innumerable memorable performances by classical, jazz and popular artists. The Town Hall Endowment Series featured artists including Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ignace Paderwaski, Lily Pons, Fedor Chaliapin, Yehudi Menuhin, and more. The hall's superb acoustics attracted many artists to make their New York debut on its stage, including Marian Anderson, contralto, who made her New York debut here on December 30, 1935, after being denied an operatic career elsewhere because of discrimination against African-Americans.
In 1987, Town Hall was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Comission, and in 2012 was added to the list of National Historic Landmarks. |
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Skinner Organ Co.
Boston, Mass. – Opus 434 (1923); rev. (1935)
Electro-pneumatic action
4 manuals, 50 registers, 40 stops, 46 ranks
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| Lynnwood Farnam at Town Hall |
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The organ in Town Hall was built in 1923 by the Skinner Organ Co., of Boston. An article in The New York Times (Dec. 29, 1922) announced that "James Speyer had donated an organ as a memorial to Mrs. Ellin Speyer, his wife. According to Arthur Hudson Marks, President of the firm which will build and install the $35,000 organ, it will be among the finest in the country."
The organ was to contain 2,913 pipes, have four keyboards with complete mechanical equipment for recitals. "In addition to the traditional organ tone, Mr. Speyer's gift will have many of the voices of an orchestra, such as the bassoon, oboe, tuba, harp, flute and French horn."
In 1935, Ernest Skinner's organ in Town Hall was completely overhauled by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company (Op. J-5364), under the direction of G. Donald Harrison. By the late 1950s the organ was rarely used; in 1960 it was acquired by the Takoma Park Seventh-day Adventist Church, Takoma Park, Md., where it was moved and installed by Lewis & Hitchcock, Inc., of Washington, D.C. |
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Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes
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16 |
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Violone |
61 |
4 |
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Flute |
61 |
8 |
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Diapason |
61 |
2 |
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Fifteenth |
61 |
8 |
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Claribel Flute (wood) |
61 |
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Mixture IV ranks * (12-15-17-19) |
244 |
8 |
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Chimney Flute |
61 |
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| Chimes (in Solo box) |
25 tubes |
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4 |
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Octave |
61 |
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* originally 3 ranks |
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Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
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16 |
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Bourdon |
73 |
2 |
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Fifteenth (added
1935) |
61 |
8 |
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Diapason |
73 |
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Mixture III ranks (12-15-19) |
183 |
8 |
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Gamba |
73 |
16 |
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Fagotto |
73 |
8 |
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Salicional |
73 |
8 |
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Trumpet |
73 |
8 |
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Voix Celeste (TC) |
61 |
8 |
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Corno d'Amore |
73 |
8 |
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Gedeckt |
73 |
8 |
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Vox Humana |
73 |
8 |
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Flute Celeste II ranks |
134 |
4 |
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Clarion |
73 |
4 |
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Flute |
73 |
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Tremolo |
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4 |
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Octave (orig. Violin) |
73 |
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Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
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8 |
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Concert Flute (wood) |
73 |
1 3/5 |
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Tierce |
61 |
8 |
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Gamba |
73 |
8 |
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Corno di Bassetto |
73 |
4 |
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Flute (harmonic) |
73 |
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Tremolo |
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2 2/3 |
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Nazard |
61 |
(8) |
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Harp (TC, from Celesta) |
— |
2 |
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Piccolo |
61 |
(4) |
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Solo Organ (Manual IV) – 61 notes, enclosed
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8 |
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Cello |
73 |
8 |
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Tuba (15" w.p.) |
73 |
8 |
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Gamba Celeste |
73 |
8 |
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French Horn |
73 |
4 |
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Orchestral Flute |
73 |
8 |
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English Horn |
73 |
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Tremolo |
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Pedal Organ – 32 notes
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32 |
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Resultant (added 1935) |
— |
8 |
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Still Gedeckt |
SW |
16 |
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Subbass (wood) |
44 |
4 |
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Flute [Bourdon] |
— |
16 |
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Violone |
GT |
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Mixture (wired; removed
1935) |
— |
16 |
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Bourdon (wood) |
56 |
16 |
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Trombone (bass of wood) |
44 |
16 |
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Echo Lieblich |
SW |
16 |
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Fagotto |
SW |
8 |
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Octave (fr. Subbass) |
— |
8 |
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Tromba (fr. 16') |
— |
8 |
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Gedeckt (fr. Bourdon) |
— |
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Couplers
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Great to Pedal 8 |
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Swell to Choir 16, 8, 4 |
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Swell to Pedal 8, 4 |
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Solo to Choir 8 |
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Choir to Pedal 8 |
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Great to Solo 8 |
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Solo to Pedal 8, 4 |
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Swell to Swell 16, 4 |
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Swell to Great 16, 8, 4 |
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Choir to Choir 16, 4 |
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Choir to Great 16, 8 |
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Solo to Solo 16, 4 |
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Solo to Great 16, 8, 4 |
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Adjustable Combinations
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| Solo Organ |
Pistons 1-2-3-4 (thumb) |
Man./Ped Combs. On & Off |
| Swell Organ |
Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb) |
Man./Ped Combs. On & Off |
| Great Organ |
Pistons 1-2-3-4-5 (thumb) |
Man./Ped Combs. On & Off |
| Choir Organ |
Pistons 1-2-3-4-5 (thumb) |
Man./Ped Combs. On & Off |
| Pedal Organ |
Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (toe) |
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| Couplers |
Pistons 1-2-3 (thumb) |
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| Entire Organ |
Pistons 1-2-3 (thumb & toe) |
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General Cancel (thumb) |
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Set (thumb) |
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Reversibles
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Solo to Pedal (thumb) |
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Choir to Pedal (thumb) |
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Swell to Pedal (thumb) |
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Sforzando (toe) |
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Great to Pedal (thumb & toe) |
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All Swells to Swell (toe) |
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Expression
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Balanced Choir Expression Pedal |
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Balanced Swell Expression Pedal |
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Balanced Solo Expression Pedal |
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Crescendo Pedal |
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Sources:
Aeolian-Skinner Archives web site: http://aeolianskinner.organsociety.org/Specs/Op00434.html
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.
Holden, Dorothy. The Life and Work of Ernest M. Skinner. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1987.
Kinzey, Allen, and Sand Lawn, comps. E.M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner Opus List. New Rev. Ed. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.
"Organ for Town Hall," The New York Times (Dec. 29, 1922).
Tikker, Timothy. Electronic correspondence (Oct. 22, 2013) regarding disposition and specification of Skinner Organ Co. organ, Op. 434 (1923).
"Town Hall Named National Historic Landmark," The New York Times (Mar. 28, 2012).
Illustrations:
eBay.com. Postcard (1933) of exterior.
Lynnwood Farnam at console: "Stop, Open and Reed – a Periodical Presentation of Pipe Organ Progress". Boston: Skinner Organ Company, 1922-1927.
Town Hall interior with organ console on stage: The American Organist (May 1924). Courtesy Jonathan Bowen. |
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