Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church - Brooklyn, NY
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Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(Roman Catholic)

98 Richards Street at Verona Street
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11231

Organ Specifications:
Present building (since 1896):
► III/32 Reuben Midmer & Sons (1917)
Second building (1878-burned 1896):
• unknown
Ewen and Van Brunt Streets (1855-1878):
• Henry Erben (1855)


The Roman Catholic Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was established in 1854 to serve the Irish and Italian dock and factory workers in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn. The first church, located on Ewen and Van Brunt Streets, was dedicated by Bishop Loughlin on October 29, 1855.

A second church, built of gray stone and measuring 175 feet long by 60 feet wide, was erected in 1878, but was destroyed by fire on July 12, 1896.

The present Gothic church was built in 1896 on Richards Street between Verona and Visitation Streets, and is across the street from Red Hook Park. A two-alarm fire damaged the interior of the church on December 30, 1949 when a 9-year-old boy accidentally dropped a hot taper into the creche in front of the altar.
             
  Reuben Midmer & Sons organ (1917) in the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church - Brooklyn, NY
Reuben Midmer & Sons
Brooklyn, N.Y. (1917)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 37 stops, 32 ranks



In 1917, the Reuben Midmer & Sons Company was awarded the contract "without competition" to build a new organ for Visitation Church. The action of the instrument was electric, with a detached console, and included thirteen pistons and nineteen couplers. Pipecounts of the following stoplist are suggested, based on similar Reuben Midmer & Sons organs of the era. The status of this organ in 2008 is unknown.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes
16
  Open Diapason
73
8
  Doppel Flöte
73
8
  Open Diapason
73
4
  Octave
73
8
  Viola di Gamba
73
4
   Flute Harmonique
73
8
   Gemshorn
73
2
   Super Octave
61
8
   Grosse Flöte
73
8
   Trumpet
73
               
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
73
4
   Flauto Traverso
73
8
  Horn Diapason
73
2
   Flageolet
61
8
  Salicional
73
8
   Cornopean
74
8
  Viol d'Orchestre
73
8
  Oboe
73
8
  Vox Celeste [TC]
61
8
   Vox Humana
73
8
   Stopped Diapason
73
  Tremolo
4
   Principal
73
        
               
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Contra Gamba
73
8
   Unda Maris [TC]
61
8
   Violin Diapason
73
8
   Concert Flute
73
8
   Dolcissimo
73
4
   Flute à Chiminée
73
4
   Quintadena
73
8
   Clarinet
73
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
  Open Diapason
32
8
   Flute [ext. Bourdon]
12
16
   Bourdon
32
16
   Trombone [ext. GT Tpt.]
12
16
   Lieblich Gedeckt
SW
8
   Tromba
GT
16
   Violone
CH?
        
             
Organ in the first church located on Ewen and Van Brunt Streets:

Henry Erben
New York City (1855)
Mechanical action

The first organ for Visitation Church was built in 1855 by Henry Erben of New York City. Specifications of this organ have not yet been located.
             
Sources:
     "Brooklyn Church Burns; Edifice of the Parish of the Visitation Destroyed," The New York Times (July 13, 1896).
     "Causes Fire in Church; Boy Drops Taper Into Creche in Edifice in Brooklyn," The New York Times (Dec. 31, 1949).
     The Diapason (Feb. 1, 1917). Stoplist of Rebuen Midmer & Sons organ (1917). Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.
     "Midmer Pipe Organs." Brooklyn: Reuben Midmer & Sons, Inc., c.1917. Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.
     Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
     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.

Illustrations:
     Forgotten New York web site: www.forgotten-ny.com: exterior.
     "Midmer Pipe Organs." Photo of Reuben Midmer & Sons Organ (1917).