Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Innocents - Brooklyn, N.Y. (photo: Jim Henderson)
 
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Church of the Holy Innocents
(Roman Catholic)

279 East 17th Street at Beverly Road
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11226
http://holyinnocentsbrooklyn.org


Organ Specifications:
Present building (since 1922):
► III/32 Skinner Organ Co., Op. 390 (1922); reb. by Peragallo (2005)
First building (1909-1922)
• II/P reed organ


Original Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Innocents - Brooklyn, N.Y. (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)  
   
Original Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Innocents - Brooklyn, N.Y. (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)  
Original church
  
The Roman Catholic Parish of the Holy Innocents was founded in 1909 to serve the Flatbush area of Brooklyn. Father William J. Costello was the first pastor. Property was acquired on East 17th Street at Beverly Road, where a temporary wooden chapel seating about 500 was erected. The site would eventually include a rectory and school.

  Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Innocents - Brooklyn, N.Y. (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1953)
 
Brooklyn Eagle photo (1953)
In 1922, plans were approved for the construction of a much larger church and rectory to be located on the same site. The 1,100-seat church was designed in the Late Gothic Revival style by Helme & Corbett, who were also the architects of St. Gregory's Church in Brooklyn. The massive square tower contains a set of 16 tubular tower chimes that were installed in 1923 and built by the J.C. Deagan Co. of Chicago.

Holy Innocents Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
             
  E.M. Skinner Organ, Op. 390 (1922) at Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Innocents - Brooklyn, NY
Skinner Organ Company
Boston, Mass. – Opus 390 (1922); reb. Peragallo (2005)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 33 stops, 32 ranks








The Skinner organ, installed in 1922 at Holy Innocents Church, originally had 30 stops, 27 ranks of pipes, and 1,716 pipes. Two 35-foot tall oak cases in the gallery contain the pipes and mechanisms. After 80 years of service, the organ was in need of a major overhaul to replace worn leather, restore the mechanisms, rebuild the console, and clean the pipes. With a major grant from the Joseph G. Bradley Charitable Foundation of Philadelphia, the organ was rebuilt in 2005 by the Peragallo Pipe Organ Company of Paterson, N.J. At this time, the organ was enlarged to 33 stops and 32 ranks. Following is the current specification:
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes
8
   Diapason
61
     Mixture IV ranks *
244
8
   Claribel Flute
61
8
   Tromba [enc. in CH]
61
8
   Erzähler
61
8
   French Horn [enc. in CH]
61
4
   Octave
61
    
Chimes
21 tubes
               
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
73
4
   Flute
73
8
   Diapason
73
     Solo Mixture III ranks
183
8
   Gedeckt
73
8
   Cornopean
73
8
   Salicional
73
8
   Oboe
73
8
   Voix Celeste
73
8
   Vox Humana
73
4
   Octave * [orig. Aeoline 8']
73
     Tremolo  

     

     
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Concert Flute
73
2
   Piccolo
61
8
   Dulciana
73
8
   Clarinet
73
4
   Flute
73
8
   Tuba Magna ** [orig. Tremolo]
61

     

     
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
32
   Resultant *
—
8
   Gedeckt [ext.]
12
16
   Diapason
32
8
   Still Gedeckt
SW
16
   Bourdon
32
16
   Trombone
32
16
   Echo Bourdon
SW
8
   Tromba [ext.]
12
8
   Octave [ext.]
12
        
           
* later addition
       
** Skinner rank added by Peragallo (2005)
               
Sources:
     "A New Brooklyn Church: Holy Innocents Parish Will Have English Gothic Structure," The New York Times (May 28, 1922).
     Aeolian-Skinner Archives web site: http://aeolian-skinner.110mb.com/
     The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X, Vol. III. New York: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914.
     Hays, Elizabeth. "Organ Regeneration: 310G Rehab for Church's Historic Instrument," Daily News (Aug. 1, 2004).
     Kinzey, Allen, and Sand Lawn. E.M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner Opus List (New Revised Edition). Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.
     The Tower Bells Supersite: http://www.towerbells.org/
     Walters, Tom. Current stoplist of Skinner Organ, Op. 390 (1922).

Illustrations:
     Brooklyn Daily Eagle (ca.1910); Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection. Interior and exterior of first church.
     Brooklyn Daily Eagle (1953); Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection. Exterior of 1923 church.
     E.M. Skinner brochure. Interior of 1923 church showing Skinner organ facade in gallery. Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.
     Henderson, Jim. Exterior.