Flatbush Reformed Church - Brooklyn, N.Y. (credit: Jim Henderson)
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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)
• III/ L.C. Harrison, Op. 79 (1886)
• II/ Henry Crabb (1857)
Second building (1698-1796):
• unknown
First building (1654-1698):
• unknown




Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church in 1787 - Brooklyn, NY  
Second Church in 1787  
Flatbush Reformed Church - Brooklyn, NY  
Postcard (1904) of Present Church  
The first church in Flatbush was built in 1654, by order of Governor Stuyvesant. He directed that the church 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. This building served the society for 44 years.

In 1698, the second church in Flatbush was erected on the same site. It was built of stone, facing the east, and had a steep four-sided roof, in the center of which was a small steeple.

Thomas Fardon designed the present edifice 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. In 1979, the Flatbush Reformed Dutch Church Complex was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
           
  Flatbush Reformed Church - Brooklyn, N.Y. (credit: Jim Henderson)
George S. Hutchings Company
Boston, Mass. – Opus 445 (1897)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 40 stops, 40 ranks




The organ in Flatbush Reformed was built in 1897 by the venerable George S. Hutchings Co. of Boston. Installed in the final years of the 19th century, this organ is still in use but is in need of a restoration.
               
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
        
         
L.C. Harrison & Co.
Bloomfield, N.J. (1886)
Mechanical action
3 manuals


The Musical Courier (Nov. 3, 1886) announced that L.C. Harrison had built an organ for the Dutch Reformed Church, Flatbush, L.I. In fact, Harrison enlarged the 1857 Henry Crabb organ to three manuals. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
           
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 Flatbush. This organ cost $2,249.93 and was substantially enlarged by L.C. Harrison in 1886.

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. Stoplist (reconstructed) of George S. Hutchings organ, Op. 445 (1897).
     The Guild of Carillonneurs of North America web site: http://www.towerbells.org
     Harter, Eugene William and Willis Boughton. Chronicles of Erasmus Hall. Published by The General Organization, Erasmus Hall High School, Brooklyn, N.Y., 1906.
     The Musical Courier (Nov. 3, 1886). Item about L.C. Harrison organ (1886). Courtesy Larry Trupiano.
     Speller, John. "Henry Crabb: An Ancient Tradition of Organbuilding Moves from Devonshire to New York," The Tracker (43:3, 1999).
     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.

Illustrations:
     Chronicles of Erasmus Hall. 1787 drawing of second church building.
     eBay.com. Postcard (1904) of present church.
     Henderson, Jim. Exterior (2008) of present church.
     Patruno, Gregg. Interior (2012) showing George S. Hutchings organ.