The Reformed Church of Newtown - Elmhurst (Queens), N.Y. (photo: Bridge and Tunnel Club)

Click on image to enlarge
The Reformed Church of Newtown
(Reformed Church in America)

85-15 Broadway
Elmhurst (Queens), N.Y. 11373
http://rcnewtown.org


Organ Specifications:
► II/7 Skinner Organ Company, Opus 834 (1930)
► II/15 George Jardine & Son (1870)


The Reformed Church of Newtown was founded in 1731 by Dutch-speaking farmers and tradesmen. New York had originally been "New Amsterdam," a Dutch Colony, and although the early members of Newtown were from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, they held their services in the Dutch language still common in the community then called "Newtown." Later, some developers changed the name of the area to Elmhurst, but the church retained its original name, a name still carried also by the local high school and subway station. Some things did change, though. The original Federal-Greek Revival building, completed in 1735, had survived the struggles of the colonial days and the disruptions of the Revolutionary War days (during which the British seized it for use as an armory), but it was replaced in 1832 by the present Georgian-style sanctuary. On the church grounds is a historic cemetery. In 1975, the church was cited by the New York Historical Trust, and in 1980, the church was added to the National Registry of Historic Places.

By 1980, a large influx of Asian immigrants came to New York City, and many of them settled in Elmhurst. The Reformed Church of Newtown has evolved so that on any given Sunday there is a Taiwanese service, a Mandarin service, and a multi-cultural service in which Greeks, Latinos, Asian-Indians, Pacific Rim Asians, Russians and "traditional Americans" worship together in English.
             
Skinner Organ Company
Boston, Mass. – Opus 834 (1930)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 11 stops, 7 ranks, 410 pipes


In 1930, the Skinner Organ Company of Boston was commissioned to build a new organ for the church. The Factory Specification (Mar. 5, 1930) has the following information:
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes
8
  Diapason
61
8
  Salicional
SW
8
  Gedeckt
SW
4
   Flute
SW

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
  Gedeckt
61
4
   Flute
61
8
  Salicional
61
8
  Flugel Horn
61
8
  Voix Celeste
61
  Tremolo  

     

     
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
  Bourdon
32
       
8
  Gedeckt [ext.]
12
       
               
Couplers
    Swell to Pedal   Great to Great 4'
    Great to Pedal   Swell to Swell 16', 4'
    Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'    
               
Combinations (Fixed and not moving knobs)
   
Great Organ Pistons 1-2-3-0
Swell Organ Pistons 1-2-3-0
           
Mechanicals
    Swell Expression Pedal   Great to Pedal Reversible
    Crescendo Pedal   Sforzando
             
George Jardine & Son
New York City (1870)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 15 stops, 15 ranks


The following specification was recorded in an "Exhibition" program, which noted that the organ included "Jardine's Improved reversible Couplers and balanced Swell Pedal, and anti-Friction bellows action." Although the program did not indicate the manual compasses, the 61-note compass is suggested below, based on standard George Jardine & Son organs of the time.
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes
8
   Open Diapason
61
4
   Principal
61
8
   Melodia
61
2 2/3
  Twelfth
61
8
   Stopped Diapason
61
2
   Fifteenth
61
4
   Harmonic Flute
61
        
               
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Open Diapason
61
4
   Violina
61
8
   Clariana
61
2
   Flageolet
61
8
   Clarionet Flute
61
8
   Trumpet
61
8
   Stopped Diapason
61
     Tremulant  
               
Pedal Organ – 25 notes
16
   Bourdon
25
        
               
Couplers
    Swell to Great          
    Great to Pedal          
    Swell to Pedal          
             
Sources:
     Kinzey, Allen, and Sand Lawn, comps. E.M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner Opus List. New Rev. Ed. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.
     Ogasapian, John. Organ Building in New York City: 1700-1900. Braintree: The Organ Literature Foundation, 1977. Specification of George Jardine & Son organ (1870).
     Trupiano, Larry. Factory Specification (Mar. 5, 1930) of Skinner Organ Company organ, Op. 634.

Illustration:
     Bridge and Tunnel Club web site: http://www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com