Zion and St. Timothy Protestant Episcopal Church - New York City (Diocese of New York Archives)
 
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Church of Zion and St. Timothy
(Protestant Episcopal)

382 West 57th Street
New York, N.Y. 10019

Organ Specifications:
382 West 57th Street (1892–burned 1921)
► III/28 Frank Roosevelt, Op. 505 (1891)
245 Madison Avenue at 38th Street (1853-1890)
► II/17 Frank Roosevelt, Op. 401 (1888)
• II/ Levi U. Stuart (1863); reb. 1880 – Chancel
• II/20 Thomas Hall (1819) – moved from old church (1821)
25 Mott Street (1801-1853)
Second building (c.1815-1853)
• Unknown Builder (1838) – Sunday School Room
• II/20 Thomas Hall (1819)
First building (1802-burned 1815)
• William Smith

The Church of Zion and St. Timothy was the result of a merger in 1890 of Zion Church and St. Timothy Church, both Protestant Episcopal congregations.

Zion Protestant Episcopal Church on Mott and Park Streets - New York City (Diocese of New York Archives)  
Mott and Park Streets
  
Althought founded in 1797 as Zion Lutheran Church, in 1801 the congregation converted en masse to Episcopalianism. In 1802, the society built a frame church at 25 Mott Street and Cross (later Park) Street. On the evening of August 31, 1815, the Mott Street church burned; the arsonist was apprehended, tried and hanged shortly afterward. The church was rebuilt in 1815 and exists today as the Church of the Transfiguration, a Roman Catholic parish.

  Zion Protestant Episcopal Church on Madison Avenue at 38th Street - New York City (Diocese of New York Archives)
 
Madison Avenue & 38th Street
In 1854, Zion Church merged with the Episcopal Church of the Atonement and built a new Gothic church on the southeast corner of Madison Avenue and 38th Street. The congregation remained in this location for the next thirty-six years, after which the building was sold to the South Reformed Dutch Church.

Another merger took place in 1890 when Zion Church united with and moved to St. Timothy Protestant Episcopal Church, a society organized in 1853 and located at 310 West 54th Street near Eighth Avenue. St. Timothy's Mission Chapel, established in 1867, was located nearby on West 56th Street at Eighth Avenue. It was on the 57th Street side of this chapel that the combined congregations built a new church, designed by William Halsey in the Victorian Gothic style and constructed from 1891-92. The new church featured two towers of unequal height and shape in the facade, and an exterior built of brick with stone trim. The interior featured exposed terra cotta brick walls trimmed with bands of pink drab, and mosaic tile floors. Seating was provided for 1,200 persons in oak pews fitted with old-gold colored cushions beneath a high ceiling of timber wood. In the large and spacious chancel was an elaborate altar and reredos, given by voluntary contributions from older parishioners of St. Timothy's Church as a memorial to the Rev. Dr. George Geer, who had been rector for nearly thirty years. In the rear of the church and facing the Fifty-sixth Street side was a three-story brick parish building, with a frontage of 100 feet. The new Zion and St. Timothy Church was opened on Easter Sunday, 1892, and consecrated debt-free the following Tuesday.

On December 31, 1921, fire was discovered by the organ tuner and his assistant, who were at work in the organ loft. The fire quickly engulfed the church and, fanned by a strong easterly wind, threatened the adjoining Clintonia apartment hotel. After the five-alarm fire was extinguished, only the church walls were left standing, and there was damage to the adjacent parish house and upper two floors of the hotel. One theory of the origin of the fire was that it was caused by defective wiring in the organ, which was electrically operated. Now homeless, the congregation approached St. Matthew's P.E. Church, located at 26 West 84th Street, about the possibility of a merger. In May 1922, the merger was approved by the diocese, and the new congregation was named St. Matthew and St. Timothy Protestant Episcopal Church.
               
  Frank Roosevelt Organ, Op. 505 (1891) in Zion and St. Timothy Protestant Episcopal Church - New York City (Diocese of New York Archives)
 
1894 interior showing Roosevelt Organ
Organ in church building located at 382 West 57th Street:

Frank Roosevelt

New York City – Opus 505 (1891)
Tracker-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 26 stops, 28 ranks


The following specification was recorded by Lynnwood Farnam (1885-1930), noted concert organist of the early 20th century. This organ was identical to Roosevelt's "Style Fifty-One" minus a Mixture 3 & 4 ranks in the Great Organ.

Farnam's notes, dated November 19, 1921, included these comments:

Brick church, organ well-placed in a chamber similar to that at Advent, Boston.
ORGANIST – Prof. Walter Henry Hall (preceded by George J. Brewer and Warren R. Hedden.)
(This church destroyed by fire shortly after my November [1921] visit.)

               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes
16
   Double Open Diapason
58
4
   Octave
58
8
   Open Diapason
58
2 2/3
   Octave Quint *
58
8
   Viola di Gamba
58
2
   Super Octave *
58
8
   Doppel Flöte
58
8
   Trumpet *
58

     

 
* enclosed in Choir swell-box
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 58 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon [divided bass/treble]
58
4
   Flute Harmonique
58
8
   Open Diapason
58
     Cornet III ranks
174
8
   Salicional
58
8
   Cornopean
58
8
   Stopped Diapason
58
8
   Oboe
58
8
   Gemshorn
58
      

     

     
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes
8
   Geigen Principal
58
4
   Rohr Flute
58
8
   Dolce
58
2
   Piccolo Harmonique
58
8
   Concert Flute
58
8
   Clarinet
58

     

     
Pedal Organ – 30 notes
16
   Open Diapason [wood]
30
8
   Violoncello
30
16
   Bourdon
30
        
               
Couplers
    Swell to Great       Swell to Pedal  
    Swell to Great Octaves       Great to Pedal  
    Choir to Great       Choir to Pedal  
    Swell to Choir          
               
Mechanical Accessories
    Swell Tremulant   Eclipse Wind Indicator
    Bellows Signal      
           
Pedal Movements
    Great Organ Forte   Great to Pedal Reversible
    Great Organ Piano   Balanced Swell Pedal
    Swell Organ Forte   Balanced Choir Pedal
    Swell Organ Piano    
             
  Frank Roosevelt Organ, Op. 401 (1888) in Zion Protestant Episcopal Church, Madison Avenue at 38th Street - New York City (Diocese of New York Archives)
 
Interior showing the Roosevelt Organ at left
Madison Avenue & 38th Street
Organ in church building located at 245 Madison Avenue:

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


This organ, built in 1888 by Frank Roosevelt of New York City, was installed to the left side of the chancel.
               
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
        
             
Organ in church building located at 245 Madison Avenue:

Levi U. Stuart
New York City (1863); reb. (1880)
Mechanical action
2 manuals


This organ by Levi U. Stuart was built in 1863 and installed in a new chancel chamber. The organ was rebuilt in 1880. Specifications organ have not yet been located.
             
Organ in Sunday School Room of second church building located at 25 Mott Street:

Unknown Builder
(1838)
Mechanical action


There was an organ in the Sunday School Room built in 1838 by an unknown builder. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
             
Organ in second church building located at 25 Mott Street:

Thomas Hall
New York City (1819)
Mechanical action


For the second church building, an organ was built in 1819 by Thomas Hall of New York City. The 1861 American Musical Directory stated that this organ had "2 banks keys, 20 stops, 2 octaves pedals." Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.

This organ was moved in 1821 to the new church at 245 Madison Avenue, where it was installed in the gallery.
             
Organ in first church building located at 25 Mott Street:

William Smith
New York City
Mechanical action


The first known organ for Zion Church was built by William Smith (c.1754-1821), a Scottish emigrée who had been ordained in the Church of Scotland. After moving to the United States, Smith served as an Episcopal priest and educator, and published several volumes for choirs and organists. Smith's organs had wooden pipes made of cedar, and generally ranged about 4 octaves and 4 stops. This organ burned with the church in 1819. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
   
         
Sources:
     American Musical Directory. New York: Thomas Hutchinson, 1861.
     Dunlap, David. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
     Farnam, Lynnwood. "Organ Notebook" (p. 1425) with specification of Frank Roosevelt organ, Op. 505 (1891). John de Lancie Library, The Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia; Sally Branca, Archivist. Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.
     Fox, David H. A Guide to North American Organbuilders (Rev. ed.). Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.
     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.
     "History of the Church of Zion and St. Timothy of New York, 1797-1894" (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1894). Courtesy Wayne Kempton, Archivist, Episcopal Diocese of New York.
     Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
     Ogasapian, John. "William Smith, Organ Builder," The Keraulophon (Vol. XIV:2, Whole No. 107, January 1983), pub. by the Greater New York Chapter of the Organ Historical Society.
     "$300,000 Fire Razes Episcopal Church," The New York Times (Jan. 1, 1922).
     "Two P.E. Churches Allowed to Merge," The New York Times (May 26, 1922).
     "Zion and St. Timothy: A Handsome New Church To Be Opened On Easter Sunday," The New York Times (May 26, 1892).

Illustrations:
     Archives of the Episcopal Diocese of New York (Wayne Kempton, Archivist): exterior and interior of Zion Church on Madison Avenue.
     "History of the Church of Zion and St. Timothy of New York, 1797-1894."
               
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