Click on images to enlarge Flatbush Reformed Church 890 Flatbush Avenue at Church Avenue Brooklyn, N.Y. 11226 http://www.flatbushchurch.org Organ Specifications: Present building (since 1796): ► III/40 George S. Hutchings, Op. 445 (1897) • II/ Henry Crabb (1857); enl. (1887) Second building (1698-1796): • unknown First building (1654-1698): • unknown   Second Church in 1787   The first church in Flatbush was built in 1654, by order of Governor Stuyvesant. He directed that it should be sixty or sixty-five feet long, twenty-eight feet broad, and from twelve to fourteen feet under the beams; that it should be built in the form of a cross, and that the rear should be reserved for the minister's dwelling. In 1698, the second church in Flatbush was erected on the same site. It was built of stone, facing the east, with a steep four-sided roof, in the center of which was a small steeple. Thomas Fardon designed the present church was that was built from 1793-98. The tower contains a clock and bell that are dated 1796, plus a 10-bell chime that was cast by the Meneely Foundry of Troy, N.Y., and installed in 1913. The chime is played from a traditional chimestand. The Flatbush church occupies the site in longest continuous use for religious purposes in the city. By contrast, the first church in Flatlands was erected in 1662, and in Brooklyn in 1666. The Flatbush Reformed Dutch Church Complex was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1979.             George S. Hutchings Company Boston, Mass. – Opus 445 (1897) Electro-pneumatic action 3 manuals, 40 stops, 40 ranks                 Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes 16   Double Open Diapason 61 4   Octave 61 8   Open Diapason 61 4   Flute Harmonique 61 8   Doppel Flöte 61 2   Fifteenth 61 8   Viola di Gamba 61   Mixture III ranks 183 8   Dulciana 61 8   Trumpet 61             Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed 16   Bourdon [ext.] 12 4   Flauto Traverso 61 8   Open Diapason 61 2   Flautino 61 8   Spitz Flöte 61   Dolce Cornet III ranks 183 8   Stopped Diapason 61 8   Cornopean 61 8   Quintadena 61 8   Oboe 61 8   Salicional 61 8   Vox Humana 61 8   Vox Celeste [TC] 49   Tremolo 4   Fugara 61                   Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed 16   Contra Gamba 61 4   Violina 61 8   Open Diapason 61 4   Flute d'Amour 61 8   Concert Flute 61 2   Piccolo Harmonique 61 8   Dolce 61 8   Clarinet 61 8   Unda Maris [TC] 49   Tremolo                   Pedal Organ – 32 notes 16   Open Diapason 32 8   Open Flute [ext.] 12 16   Violone 32 8   Stopped Flute [ext.] 12 16   Bourdon 32 8   Violoncello [ext.] 12 10 2/3   Quint 32                     Henry Crabb Flatbush, L.I. (1857) Mechanical action 2 manuals The first known organ for the Dutch Reformed Church of Flatbush was built in 1857 by Henry Crabb, who lived and operated his organbuilding firm in Flatbsh. This organ cost $2,249.93 and was substantially enlarged in 1887. In her book, The Social History of Flatbush, and Manners and Customs of the Dutch Settlers in Kings County, Gertrude Lefferts Vanderbilt writes: Somewhere about 1864 the church was again renovated, and it still remains as it was at that time decorated. After this renovation a new church-clock was placed in the steeple, which has proved to be an excellent time-keeper. It strikes upon the old bell given in 1796. The organ was purchased about 1860. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.             Sources:      Dolkart, Andrew S. and Matthew A. Postal. Guide to New York City Landmarks (Third Edition). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2004.      Glück, Sebastian. Specifications (reconstructed) of Geo. S. Hutchings organ, Op. 445 (1897).      The Guild of Carillonneurs of North America web site: http://www.gcna.org      Harter, Eugene William and Willis Boughton. Chronicles of Erasmus Hall. Published by The General Organization, Erasmus Hall High School, Brooklyn, N.Y., 1906.      Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.      Speller, John. "Henry Crabb: An Ancient Tradition of Organbuilding Moves from Devonshire to New York," The Tracker, 43:3 (1999), p. 16.      Trupiano, Larry. M.P. Möller, Inc. Opus List.      Vanderbilt, Gertrude Lefferts. The Social History of Flatbush, and Manners and Customs of the Dutch Settlers in Kings County. Brooklyn: Frederick Loesser and Co., 1909. Photos:      eBay.com: 1904 postcard of church.      Harter, Eugene William and Willis Boughton. Chronicles of Erasmus Hall: 1787 drawing of second church building. | NYC AGO Home Page | Back to NYC Organ Project List |