Grace United Methodist Church - Brooklyn, NY
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Grace United Methodist Church

33 Seventh Avenue at St. John's Place
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11215
http://www.graceumcbrooklyn.org


Organ Specifications:
33 Seventh Avenue at St. John's Place (since 1883)
► III/28 M.P. Möller, Op. 5736 (1930)
• II/25 Hook & Hastings Co., Op. 1105 (1882)
Seventh Avenue, corner Sterling Place (1869-1883)
► II/14 William A. Johnson, Op. 307 (1869)




Grace United Methodist Church can trace its roots back to the Spring of 1866 when the bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church appointed two preachers to oversee a new church enterprise on Prospect Hill, near Flatbush Avenue, in Brooklyn. Several lots on Seventh Avenue and Butler Street (now Sterling Place) were purchased, a small wooden chapel was built, and the new organization became known as the Seventh Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1869, the small chapel was replaced by a much larger church that measured fifty-six feet wide by one hundred feet deep. The brick edifice could accomodate about one thousand people and opened in 1869. When erected, it was intended that the new building should be used as a chapel, and it was intended that the balance of the lot would be used in time for the erection of a handsome church.

Despite an excellent location amid many new residences, growth was slow for the young church and its influence in the community was not as great as had been anticipated. For the first few years, the church was able to carry its $20,000 mortgage, plus the heavy $5,000 assessment by the City of Brooklyn for improvements to the area streets, but with the hard times created by the Financial Panic of 1873, the church could no longer pay the interest on the mortgage. On December 19, 1877, the Home Insurance Company foreclosed on its mortgage on the church building and lot. The society, having anticipated the foreclosure, devised a way to save the church. First, the valuable vacant lot was sold at a profit, and the proceeds were used to settle the $8,000 mortgage on that lot. The old society, with its mortgage wiped out, was then reorganized as Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, and the balance of the sale proceeds was used to purchase the old church.

Grace United Methodist Church - Brooklyn, N.Y. (Brooklyn Eagle Postcard, 1907)  
Postcard (1907)  
In 1882, the northeast corner of Seventh Avenue and St. John's Place was purchased, and the present church was built from 1882-83 at a cost of $75,000. Designed by the Parfitt Brothers of Brooklyn, the Gothic building is constructed of sandstone with terra-cotta trim and includes Romanesque and Moorish details. At the corner is a square tower that was originally surmounted by an octagonal cone spire. The large window and gable facing Seventh Avenue mark the rear of the church nave, and on the St. John's Place side, paired windows are separated by stone buttresses. The chapel and 600-seat church were dedicated on Sunday January 21, 1883 by Bishop Matthew Simpson. The adjoining parsonage was built in 1887. In 1940, the name was changed to Grace Methodist Church, and in January 1969, was changed again to Grace United Methodist Church.

On September 15, 1944, a hurricane caused the loss of many lives and much damage to area buildings. The church's spire broke off, and was ultimately removed. Another disaster struck on December 16, 1960, when a United Airlines flight with 84 persons collided in mid-air with a Trans World Airlines flight with 44 persons aboard. The TWA aircraft landed at Miller Army Airfield, near the Staten Island village of New Dorp, and the United aircraft landed one block from Grace church on Sterling Place into the Pillar of Fire Church, the former Seventh Avenue Methodist Church. There were no survivors. The death toll was 134 including 6 people on the ground. Grace Church opened its doors and the Pastor, Rev. Richard Rice, placed the church's facilities at the disposal of the firemen and Red Cross for an Emergency Reserve Center.
           
  M.P. Möller Organ, Op. 5736 (1930) in Grace United Methodist Church - Brooklyn, N.Y. (Brooklyn Eagle, 1930)
  Brooklyn Eagle photo (1930)
M.P. Möller, Inc.
Hagerstown, Md. – Opus 5736 (1930)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 55 stops, 28 ranks






M.P. Möller Organ, Op. 5736 (1930) in Grace United Methodist Church - Brooklyn, NY  
In 1930, the M.P. Möller Company installed a new organ in Grace Methodist, replacing the smaller Hook & Hastings organ installed in 1882. Möller provided a detached three-manual drawknob console, and facades of quarter-sawn oak with gold bronze display pipes. This organ is extant as of 2008.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed with Choir (5" wind pressure)
16
  Open Diapason
85
  Mixture III ranks
183
8
  First Open Diapason
61
8
   French Horn *
73
8
   Second Open Diapason
73
16
   Tuba Profunda *
85
8
   Philomela *
73
8
   Tuba Mirabilis *
—
8
   Melodia
73
4
   Tuba Clarion *
—
8
   Cello
73
    
Chimes
25 Bells
8
   Cello Celeste [TC]
61
8
   Harp
CH
4
   Octave [2nd Op. Diap.]
—
4
   Celesta
CH
4
   Flute Harmonic
CH
    
* 12" wind pressure

 

      

 

      
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed (6" wind pressure)
16
  Lieblich Gedeckt [unit]
97
4
  Orchestral Flute
—
8
   Open Diapason
73
4
   Salicet [ext.]
—
8
  Gedeckt
—
2 2/3
  Flute Twelfth
—
8
   Viole d'Orchestre
73
2
   Flautina
—
8
   Salicional
73
8
   Cornopean
73
8
   Vox Celeste [TC]
61
8
   Oboe
73
8
  Viole d'Amour
—
8
  Vox Humana
73
               
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed with Great (5" wind pressure)
16
   Dulciana [unit]
97
8
   English Horn
73
8
   English Open Diapason *
GT
8
   Clarinet
73
8
   Dulciana [ext.]
—
2 2/3
   Nazard [ext.]
—
8
   Unda Maris [TC]
61
2
   Twelfth [sic] [ext.]
—
8
   Flute Harmonic
73
1 3/5
  Tierce [ext.]
—
8
   Philomela
GT
8
  
Harp
61 Bars
8
   Cello Celeste II ranks
GT
4
   Celesta [ext. Harp]
—
4
   Flute Traverso [Melodia]
GT
     Chimes
GT
4
   Dulcet [ext.]
—
    
* from GT 16' Open Diap.
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
32
  Resultant
—
8
   Flute [ext. Bourdon]
—
16
  First Open Diapason
44
8
   Violoncello
GT
16
   Second Open Diapason
GT
16
   Tuba Profunda
GT
16
   Bourdon
44
8
   Tuba Mirabilis
GT
16
   Lieblich Gedeckt
SW
4
   Tuba Clarion
GT
8
   Gedeckt
SW
16
   Dulciana
CH
8
   Octave [ext. 16' 1st O. D.]
—
        
               
Couplers
    Great to Pedal 8', 4'     Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'
    Swell to Pedal 8', 4'     Great 16', 4', Unison Separation
    Choir to Pedal 8'     Swell 16', 4', Unison Separation
    Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'     Choir 16', 4', Unison Separation
    Choir to Great 16', 8', 4'      
               
Mechanicals
    Great Tremulant       Crescendo Indicator  
    Swell Tremulant          
    Choir Tremulant          
               
Adjustable Combinations
    Seven pistons affecting Great Stops
    Seven pistons affecting Swell Stops and Pedal on 2nd touch
    Seven pistons affecting Choir Stops
    Five pistons affecting Full Organ
    General Cancel
     
Pedal Movements
    Great to Pedal Reversible
    Balanced Expression Pedal, Swell Organ
    Balanced Expression Pedal, Great-Choir Organ
    Grand Crescendo Pedal
    Sforzando Pedal (extreme right)
    Sforzando Piston (under Great manual extreme right)
           
Hook & Hastings
Boston, Mass. – Opus 1105 (1882)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 25 registers


The original organ in the present church was built in 1882 by the Hook & Hastings Company of Boston. Specifications of this organ have not yet been located.
         
Organ in Seventh Avenue M.E. Church on Sterling Place:

William A. Johnson
Westfield, Mass. – Opus 307 (1869)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 14 stops, 14 ranks


The organ in the Seventh Avenue Methodist Chapel was built in 1869 by William A. Johnson of Westfield, Mass. Following are the specifications recorded (May 1, 1937) by Louis F. Mohr & Co., an organ service firm in the area. Sometime around 1954 the organ was moved to storage at the Pillar of Fire headquarters in Zeraphath, N.J.
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes
8
   Open Diapason
58
4
   Octave
58
8
   Melodia [TC]
46
2 2/3
   Twelfth
58
8
   Stop'd Diapason Bass
12
2
   Fifteenth
58
8
   Dulciana
58
8
   Clarinet
58
4
   Flute d'Amour
58
        
               
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes, enclosed
8
   Open Diapason
58
4
   Flute Harmonic
58
8
   Salicional
58
8
   Oboe [TC]
46
8
   Stopped Diapason [TC]
46
8
   Bassoon Bass
12
8
   Stop'd Diapason Bass
12
        
 
      
 
      
Pedal Organ – 25 notes
16
   Double Open Diapason
25
        
               
Couplers
    [Swell to Great]          
    Great to Pedal          
    Swell to Pedal          
               
Pedal Movements
    Balanced Swell Pedal    
    2 Combination Pedals    
           
Sources:
     Bridge and Tunnel Club web site: www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com/
     "Dedicated: The Grace Methodist Episcopal Church Yesterday," Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Jan. 22, 1883).
     "Dedicating a New Church," The New York Times (Jan. 22, 1883).
     "Foreclosed: The Seventh Avenue M.E. Church," Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Dec. 19, 1877).
     Grace United Methodist Church web site: http://www.graceumcbrooklyn.org
     "The Methodist Record: For the City of Brooklyn Completed to the Present Time," Brooklyn Daily Eagle (July 10, 1887).
     Mohr, Louis F. & Co. Specifications (May 1, 1937) of William A. Johnson organ, Op. 307 (1869). Courtesy Larry Trupiano.
     Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
     Stern, Robert A.M., Thomas Mellins, and David Fishman. New York 1880: Architecture and Urbanism in the Gilded Age. New York City: The Monacelli Press, 1999.
     Trupiano, Larry. Factory Specifications of M.P. Möller Organ, Op. 5736 (1930).

Illustrations:
     Bridge and Tunnel Club web site. Exterior.
     Brooklyn Eagle, Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection. Postcard (1907) of church exterior; Photo (1930) of church interior.
     Grace United Methodist Church web site. Interior.