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Zion-St. Mark Lutheran Church
339 East 84th Street
New York, N.Y. 10028
http://www.zionstmarks.org/
Zion and St. Mark's originally were two separate German-speaking Lutheran congregations in New York City. St. Mark's was located on the Lower East Side in Manhattan, where German immigrants had founded it in 1846 to have a home for their faith. Zion Church, organized in 1892, purchased the former German Evangelical Church of Yorkville, designed by J.F. Mahoney and built in 1888.
Both congregations grew at a rapid pace with the influx of mass immigration to the United States from Germany in the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. Both congregations were at the heart of German speaking neighborhoods.
In 1904, disaster struck St. Mark's from which it never really would recover. The Ladies' Aid Society (Frauenhilfsverein) had chartered a boat, the General Slocum, for its annual outing. Almost all the women and children of the parishioners went aboard that steamship to sail up the East River for a wonderful summer day outing. At Hell's Gate—not far from where Zion church is located—the boat caught fire and over 1000 parishioners perished. In 1946, St. Mark's merged with Zion after most of the remaining congregation had left the Lower East Side and moved to Yorkville.
While Yorkville continued to thrive in the first half of the last century, its German character was lost in the second half. Nowadays it is a gentrified neighborhood where people from many nations live.
Zion-St. Mark's membership declined with the end of mass immigration from Germany. However, the church still has services in German and celebrates many German cultural events throughout the year.
Zion-St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church was listed on the State Register of Historic Places on November 28, 1994, and on the National Register of Historic Places on March 23, 1995. |
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Fenton Organ Company
New York City (1912)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 23 stops, 17 ranks
In 1912, the Roosevelt organ in Zion-St. Mark's Church was electrified by the Fenton Organ Company of New York City. Arthur L. Fenton is believed to have worked for the Roosevelt Organ Works, and in 1912 established the Fenton Organ Company. By 1915, Fenton was working with Reuben Midmer & Son of Merrick, N.Y.
Fenton installed electro-pneumatic action while retaining the Roosevelt chests and pipes. The two-manual terraced drawknob console was electrified and detached, although the mechanical swell linkage was retained.
At some point, the organ was rebuilt again by James A. Konzelman Pipe Organs of Maplewood, N.J. Konzelman installed new chests, replaced the Swell 8' Aeoline with a 4'-2' unit Principal, and included several duplexed stops on the rebuilt console. |
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Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes
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8 |
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Open Diapason |
61 |
4 |
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Octave |
61 |
8 |
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Doppel Flute |
61 |
4 |
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Hohl Flute |
61 |
8 |
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Lieblich Gedeckt * |
SW |
2 |
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Super Octave |
61 |
8 |
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Gamba |
61 |
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Chimes |
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8 |
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Dulciana |
61 |
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Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
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16 |
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Bourdon [unit] |
73 |
4 |
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Principal [unit] * |
73 |
8 |
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Open Diapason |
61 |
4 |
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Harmonic Flute |
61 |
8 |
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Salicional |
61 |
2 |
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Octave [ext.] * |
— |
8 |
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Voix Celeste [TC] |
49 |
8 |
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Oboe |
61 |
8 |
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Stopped Diapason |
61 |
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Tremulant |
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Pedal Organ – 32 notes
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16 |
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Open Diapason |
32 |
8 |
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Principal * |
GT |
16 |
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Bourdon [unit] |
44 |
8 |
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Bourdon * |
— |
16 |
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Lieblich Gedeckt * |
SW |
4 |
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Choral Bass * |
GT |
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Couplers
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Great to Pedal 8' |
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Great to Great 4' |
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Swell to Pedal 8' |
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Swell to Swell 16', 4' |
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Swell to Great 16', 8, 4' |
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* added by Konzelman Organs |
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Adjustable Combinations
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| Swell Organ |
Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb) |
| Great Organ |
Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb) |
| Pedal Organ |
Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb) |
| Full Organ |
Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb) |
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General Cancel (thumb) |
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Set (thumb) |
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Accessories
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Balanced Swell Pedal |
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Swell to Great Reversible (thumb) |
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Crescendo Pedal |
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Sforzando Reversible (thumb) |
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Hilborne L. Roosevelt
New York City – Opus 340 (1886)
Tracker-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 15 stops
The first-known organ in this church was built in 1886 by Hilborne L. Roosevelt of New York City. Roosevelt's opus 340 was known to have had 15 stops. Following is a suggested specification, derived from what is known about the rebuildings by the Fenton Organ Co. and Konzelman Pipe Organs. |
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Great Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes
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8 |
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Open Diapason |
58 |
4 |
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Octave |
58 |
8 |
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Doppel Flöte |
58 |
4 |
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Hohl Flöte |
58 |
8 |
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Viola di Gamba |
58 |
2 |
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Super Octave |
58 |
8 |
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Dolce |
58 |
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Swell Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes, enclosed
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16 |
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Bourdon [treble and bass] |
58 |
4 |
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Flute Harmonique |
58 |
8 |
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Open Diapason |
58 |
8 |
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Oboe |
58 |
8 |
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Salicional |
58 |
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Tremulant |
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8 |
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Stopped Diapason |
58 |
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Pedal Organ – 30 notes
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16 |
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Open Diapason |
30 |
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16 |
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Bourdon |
30 |
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Couplers
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Great to Pedal |
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Swell to Great |
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Swell to Pedal |
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Swell to Great Suboctaves |
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Pedal Movements
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Balanced Swell Pedal |
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Sources:
Dunlap, David. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
Fox, David H. A Guide to North American Organbuilders (Rev. ed.). Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.
Haberstroh, Richard. The German Churches of Metropolitan New York: A Research Guide. New York: The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, 2000.
Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
Zion-St. Mark Lutheran Church web site: http://www.zionstmarks.org/
Illustrations:
Lawson, Steven E. Fenton Organ case; exterior.
Zion-St. Mark Lutheran Church web site. Chancel and gallery. |
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