First Presbyterian Church
216-02 137th Avenue
Springfield Gardens (Queens), N.Y. 11413
Organ Specifications:
216-02 137th Avenue
Present building (since 1906)
• II/ Midmer-Losh Organ Company (1927) – rebuild
• II/ Reuben Midmer & Sons (1924)
• Jardine moved?
First building (1867-1906)
► I/7 George Jardine (1850) – installed (1890) |
The First Presbyterian Church of Springfield Gardens dates back to 1860 when a society held services in a borrowed schoolhouse. In 1867 the church was officially organized and an edifice was erected. The present edifice, a frame structure in the Gothic style, was dedicated on Sunday, September 23, 1906, and at services on Sundays and Wednesdays for the next two weeks. Completed at a cost of about $40,000, the auditorium provided seating for 350 persons with a choir loft for 30; when the adjoining Sunday-school room was opened over 800 persons could be accomodated. A fire destroyed the church's lecture room and auditorium in 1927. |
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Midmer-Losh Organ Company
Merrick, N.Y. (1927)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals
In 1927 the Midmer-Losh Organ Company, successor firm to Reuben Midmer & Sons, rebuilt the 1924 Midmer & Sons organ. Specifications of this organ have not yet been located. |
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Reuben Midmer & Sons
Merrick, N.Y. (1924)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals
The second known pipe organ in the church was built in 1924 by Reuben Midmer & Sons of Merrick, Long Island. This organ had two manuals. Specifications of this organ have not yet been located. |
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George Jardine
New York City (1850) – installed (1890)
Mechanical action
1 manual, 7 stops, 7 ranks
This organ was originally built in 1850 for the Presbyterian Church of Jamaica, Queens. In 1890 the organ was acquired by the First Presbyterian of Springfield Gardens. The following specification was recorded (May 11, 1916) by Louis F. Mohr, an organ service concern in the area. Mohr noted that the organ had a painted oak case with 19 'dummy' (non-speaking) front pipes. |
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Manual – 54 notes, enclosed
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8 |
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Open Diapason |
54 |
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8 |
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St. Diapason Treble |
54 |
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8 |
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St. Diapason Bass |
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8 |
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Dulciana |
54 |
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4 |
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Flute |
54 |
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4 |
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Principal |
54 |
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2 |
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Fifteenth |
54 |
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8 |
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Trumpet |
54 |
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Pedal – 13 notes
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no stops;
probably permanently coupled to manual |
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Accessories
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Bellows signal |
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Hook pedal |
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Sources:
"Church Life in Many Fields," The New York Observer (Sept. 27, 1906).
Copquin, Claudia Gryvatz. The Neighborhoods of Queens. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007.
Mohr, Louis F. & Co. Specification (May 11, 1916) of George Jardine organ (1850). Courtesy Larry Trupiano.
Illustration:
Trupiano, Larry. Exterior. |
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