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Wadsworth Avenue Baptist Church
210 Wadsworth Avenue at 184th Street
New York, N.Y. 10033
http://www.wadsworthnyc.com
The Wadsworth Avenue Baptist Church can trace its roots back to 1842 with the organization of the Laight Street Baptist Church. Located south of Canal Street between Broadway and the Hudson River, the church purchased an edifice originally built in 1842 as the Laight Street Presbyterian Church. In 1870, the Laight Street Baptist Church was sold to business interests, and the congregation relocated to a new church building on Forty-second Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. By 1882, the membership declined and the church merged into the MacDougall Street Baptist Church. In 1885, through the efforts of the Baptist City Mission, the Laight Street Baptist Mission Sunday School was organized, and the name was changed to Hope Baptist Church. The downtown field soon became too narrow for the new Baptist church and it was decided in 1890 to move uptown to 104th Street and the Boulevard (later known as Broadway). In 1917 the name was changed to Broadway Baptist Church.
In 1918, the Broadway Baptist Church, which was seeking a new location, merged with and moved to the Fort Washington Baptist Church at 124 Wadsworth Avenue, between 179th and 180th Streets. In 1922, the church purchased the present lots at 210 Wadsworth Avenue and 184th Street with proceeds from the sale of the old Broadway Baptist Church and 124 Wadsworth Avenue. Architects Ludlow & Peabody designed the Georgian style church which opened on April 25, 1926. The 400-seat auditorium includes a gallery, and has a barrell vault ceiling. A small podium is provided for the pulpit, organ console and, originally, choir seating. On the back wall of the baptistry is a painting of the River Jordan, executed in 1929 by Cora Reibor. Above the baptistry is the organ facade containing five flats filled with gold pipes.
In early 2015, the church property was sold to a developer who plans to demolish
the church buildings and erect
a
residential
building on the site. The new building is to have space on the ground floor for
the church community. |
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Ernest M. Skinner Company
Boston, Mass. – Opus 556 (1925)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 26 registers, 18 stops, 18 ranks
For their new building, the Wadsworth Avenue Baptist Church commissioned the Ernest M. Skinner Company of Boston to build a new organ. Installed in 1926 at a cost of $12,950, its pipes and mechanism are located in chambers above the baptistry and behind a facade of gold-painted, non-speaking display pipes. In 2007, the organ was unplayable due to a change in electrical service to the building by Con Edison electric company. It appears that the organ has not been altered, thus making it one of the few remaining Skinner organs in New York City to be in original condition.
In February 2016, the organ was removed by Organ
Clearing House, and moved to storage in Our Lady
of Pompeii Catholic Church in Greenwich Village,
where it will be restored and installed when funds
become available. |
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Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes
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8 |
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Diapason |
73 |
4 |
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Octave |
73 |
8 |
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Clarabella |
73 |
4 |
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Flute |
SW |
8 |
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Salicional |
SW |
8 |
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Cornopean |
SW |
8 |
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Gedeckt |
SW |
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Chimes |
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8 |
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Flute Celeste II ranks |
SW |
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Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
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16 |
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Bourdon |
73 |
4 |
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Flute |
73 |
8 |
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Diapason |
73 |
2 |
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8 |
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Gedeckt |
73 |
8 |
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Cornopean |
73 |
8 |
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Flauto Dolce |
73 |
8 |
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Corno d'Amour |
73 |
8 |
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Flute Celeste (TC) |
61 |
8 |
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8 |
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Salicional |
73 |
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Tremolo |
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8 |
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Vox Celeste |
73 |
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Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
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8 |
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Concert Flute |
73 |
8 |
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Clarinet |
73 |
8 |
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Dulciana |
73 |
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Tremolo |
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4 |
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Flute d'Amour |
73 |
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Pedal Organ – 32 notes
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16 |
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Bourdon |
44 |
8 |
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Still Gedeckt |
SW |
16 |
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Echo Bourdon |
SW |
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Chimes |
GT |
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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Great 16', 4' |
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Choir to Pedal 8' |
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Swell 16', 4', Unison Off |
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Swell to Great 16', 8', 4' |
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Choir 16', 4', Unison Off |
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Choir to Great 16', 8', 4' |
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Combinations
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Pistons No. 1-2-3-4 |
affecting Swell Organ |
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Pistons No. 1-2-3 |
affecting Great Organ |
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Pistons No. 1-2-3 |
affecting Choir Organ |
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Pistons No. 1-2-3 |
affecting Pedal Organ |
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Pistons No. 1-2-3 |
affecting Full Organ |
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Pedal to Comb. Adj. |
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Pedal Movements
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Balanced Choir Pedal |
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Great to Pedal Reversible |
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Balanced Swell Pedal |
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Sforzando Reversible |
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Balanced Crescendo Pedal |
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Sources:
Aeolian-Skinner Archives web site: http://aeolianskinner.organsociety.org
"Baptist Churches Merge," The New York Times (Jan. 26, 1918).
Coupe, Madeline L. "Historically Speaking..." a history of the Wadsworth Avenue Baptist Church, written in 1980 for the 70th Anniversary of the church; courtesy the Rev. Joshua D. Blair.
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.
Kinzey, Allen, and Sand Lawn, comps. E.M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner Opus List (New Revised Edition). Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.
"The Laight-Street Church," The New York Times (Apr. 26, 1885).
"The Laight-Street Baptist Mission," The New York Times (Jan. 8, 1872).
"New Wadsworth Avenue Baptist Edifice Will Be Dedicated Tomorrow," The New York Times (Apr. 24, 1926).
"Old Cradle of Liberty: Memorial Services at the Laight-Street Baptist Church," The New York Times (Oct. 24, 1870).
"Uniting Two Congregations," The New York Times (Oct. 23, 1882).
Wadsworth Avenue Baptist Church archives; courtesy the Rev. Joshua D. Blair, Pastor.
Illustrations:
Steven E. Lawson |
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