Church of the Pilgrims - Brooklyn, N.Y.


	Click on image to enlarge

Church of the Pilgrims
(Congregational)

113 Remsen Street at Henry Street
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201

Organ Specifications:
► III/23 Austin Organ Company, Op. 259 (1909)
► III/43 E. & G.G. Hook, Op. 519 (1870)
• III/45 Thomas Appleton (1846)

On January 25, 1844, a small group met to discuss the establishment of an ecclesiastical society that would become the Church of the Pilgrims. After sufficient subscriptions were secured to meet projected expenses, the site at the corner of Remsen and Henry Streets was purchased, and construction began on the edifice. The society hired Richard Upjohn, an architect known for "Ecclesiological" Gothic churches for "High Church" Episcopal congregations, to design their church. The resulting edifice, which was built from 1844-46, has been termed a medieval equivalent of a New England meetinghouse, and is regarded as the first Romanesque Revival church in the United States. On July 2, 1844, the cornerstone was laid in the presence of a large assembly, "but it was not until the building was measurably completed, that on the evening of the 22nd of December, the 224th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, seventy-one persons assented publicly to articles of faith, entered into covenant with each other and with God, and were recognized by a Council as a church of Christ." Following this organization, the society was legally constituted two days later, on December 24, 1844. Due to various and unforeseen construction delays, the church was not opened for sacred use until May 12, 1846. In the next month, the society called the Rev. Richard S. Storrs, Jr., of Brookline, Mass., to be its first pastor, and he was installed in November of that year. In June 1847, nine members requested to be dismissed so that they, along with others, could establish the Plymouth Church, which was organized soon after. Over the years, the Church of the Pilgrims would help establish or support other Congregational churches in Brooklyn and its vicinity.

In the summer of 1869, work began on a large and costly addition that would extend to the east along Remsen Street for a total of one hundred and eighty feet. Designed by Leopold Eidlitz, who had once worked for Richard Upjohn, this new building would provide an additional 450 seats in the church, a much larger lecture room, more Sunday school rooms, and various rooms for classes and meetings.

In 1934, the Church of the Pilgrims merged with Plymouth Church, forming the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims. At that time, the Tiffany windows were removed and installed in Plymouth Church's Hillis Hall. In 1944, the old Church of the Pilgrims was purchased by Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Rite Roman Catholic Church.

Austin Organ Company Hartford, Conn. – Opus 259 (1909) Electro-pneumatic action 3 manuals, 25 stops, 23 ranks, 1,525 pipes In 1909, the Austin Organ Company extensively rebuilt and electrified the 1870 E. & G.G. Hook organ (Op. 519) as their Opus # 259. Austin reused about half of the Hook pipework (discarding the mixtures and ranks above 4' pitch), raised the pressure to 5", and added a new pipe at the bottom of most ranks to rescale and repitch the pipes to A435. Several new ranks were added, including the signature Austin Cornopean 8' in the Swell. The Austin contract contained a clause insisted upon by the Church of the Pilgrims that the new instrument (including the large Austin Universal Chests) must fit within the 1870 Hook case. As of 2009, this organ is extant but unplayable in Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral, who have owned the building since 1944.

Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes (5" pressure)
16	Open Diapason (wood)	61	8	Gamba	61
8	Open Diapason	61	4	Octave	61
8	Gross Flute (wood)	61		Chimes

Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed (5" pressure)
16	Lieblich Gedeckt	73	4	Flauto Traverso (wood)	73
8	Open Diapason	73	2	Flautino	61
8	Doppel Flute (wood)	73	8	Cornopean	73
8	Viole d'Orchestre (tin)	73	8	Oboe	73
8	Viole d'Amour	73	8	Vox Humana	73
8	Vox Celeste [TC]	61		Tremolo

Choir Organ Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed (5" pressure)
8	Melodia (wood)	73	4	Flute d'Amour (wood & metal)	73
8	Dulciana	73	8	Clarinet	73
8	Quintadena	73		Tremolo

Pedal Organ – 32 notes (5" pressure)
16	Open Diapason (wood)	32	16	Lieblich Gedeckt	SW
16	Bourdon (wood)	44	8	Gross Flute [ext. Bourdon]	—

Couplers
	Great to Pedal 8', 4'			Choir to Great 16', 8', 4'
	Swell to Pedal 8', 4'			Swell to Choir 16', 8', 4'
	Choir to Pedal 8'			Swell to Swell 16', 4'
	Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'			Choir to Choir 16', 4'

Adjustable Combinations
	Pistons No. 1-2-3-4	affecting Swell Organ
	Pistons No. 1-2-3-4	affecting Great Organ
	Pistons No. 1-2-3-4	affecting Choir Organ
	Pistons No. 1-2-3-4	affecting Pedal Organ
	Pistons No. 1-2-3-4	Generals

Pedal Movements
	Balanced Choir Pedal
	Balanced Swell Pedal
	Crescendo Pedal
	Sforzando Pedal

E. &. G. G. Hook Boston, Mass. – Opus 519 (1870) Mechanical action 3 manuals, 37 stops, 43 ranks

Great Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes
16	Open Diapason	58	2 2/3	Twelfth	58
8	Open Diapason	58	2	Fifteenth	58
8	Viola di Gamba	58		Mixture, 3 ranks	174
8	Viola d'Amour	58		Acuta, 3 ranks	174
8	Doppel Flöte (wood)	58	16	Trumpet	58
4	Flute Harmonique	58	8	Trumpet	58
4	Octave	58

Swell Organ (Manual III) – 58 notes, enclosed
16	Bourdon (wood)	58	4	Violina	58
8	Open Diapason	58	2	Flautina	58
8	Stopped Diapason	58		Mixture, 3 ranks	174
8	Keraulophon	58	8	Cornopean	58
4	Flauto Traverso (wood)	58	8	Oboe and Bassoon	58
4	Octave	58	8	Vox Humana	58

Solo Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes
8	Geigen Principal	58	4	Flute d'Amour (wood & metal)	58
8	Dulciana	58	2	Piccolo	58
8	Melodia (wood, with stp. bass)	58	8	Clarionet (with sliding bells)	58
4	Fugara	58

Pedale Organ – 27 notes
16	Open Diapason (wood)	27	8	Violoncello	27
16	Bourdon (wood)	27	16	Trombone (wood)	27
10 2/3	Quint (wood)	27

Mechanical Registers
	Great to Pneumatic coupler *			Solo to Pedale coupler
	Swell to Pneumatic coupler * (SW to GT)			Swell to Solo Coupler
	Solo to Pneumatic coupler * (SO to GT)			Swell Tremulant
	Great to Pedale coupler			Bellows Signal
	Swell to Pedale coupler			* small thumb knobs above Great manual

Pedal Movements
	Great Piano Combination			Pedal to operate Solo stops
	Great Forte Combination			Pedal to operate Great to Pedale
	Swell Piano Combination			Pedal to operate Swell Tremulant
	Swell Forte Combination			Adjustable Swell Pedal

Thomas Appleton
Boston, Mass. (1846)
Mechanical action
3 manuals, 45 stops

The original organ for the Church of the Pilgrims was built in 1846 by Thomas Appleton of Boston. Specifications of this organ have not yet been located. In 1869, this organ was sold to the South Congregational Church of Chicago, and was rebuilt or simply moved by Wm. A. Johnson as his Op. 295. South Congregational built a new church in 1881, and the Appleton organ was moved to Memorial Baptist Church.

Sources:
     Elsworth, John Van Varick. The Johnson Organs. Harrisville, NH: The Boston Organ Club Chapter of the Organ Historical Society, 1984.
     Historical and Descriptive Sketch of the Church of the Pilgrims, Brooklyn, N.Y. Brooklyn: H.M. Gardner, Jr., 1871.
     Marini, The Very Rev. Francis J. Notes on the organs.
     Morrone, Francis. An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn. Brooklyn: Gibbs Smith, 2001.
     Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
     "The New Organ in the Church of the Pilgrims," Brooklyn Eagle (Nov. 29, 1870) 2.
     Ochse, Orpha. Austin Organs. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 2001.
     Stiles, Henry Reed. History of the City of Brooklyn: Including the Old Town and Village of Brooklyn, the Town of Bushwick, and the Village and City of Williamsburgh. Brooklyn: pub. by subscription, 1863.
     Van Pelt, William T., comp. The Hook Opus List, 1829-1916 in Facsimile. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1991.

Illustration:
     Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn Collection, Brooklyn Public Library. Photo (c.1920) of exterior.

| NYC AGO Home Page | Back to NYC Organ Project List |