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St. Nicholas of Tolentine
(Roman Catholic)
2345 University Avenue at Fordham Road
Bronx, N.Y. 10468
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The Parish of St. Nicholas of Tolentine was founded by the Augustinians on April 22, 1906.
Records show that 127 people attended the first Mass which was said in a little garage building on North Street near Jerome Avenue.
Property on the southeast corner of Andrews Avenue and Fordham Road was purchased, and construction began soon thereafter on a two-story combination building for the church and school, and a rectory. The cornerstone was laid on July 15, 1906, by Monsignor J. F. Mooney, V.G., and on September 15, 1907, the church was dedicated by Archbishop Farley, with a Pontifical Mass sung by the Rt. Rev. W. A. Jones, O.S.A., of Puerto Rico. In the early years, the Augustinian Fathers attended to the Catholic Orphan Asylums (for both males and females) on Sedgwick Avenue and Kingsbridge Road. The school was administered by the Sisters of Charity.
By the 1920s, the University Heights area (named for the presence at that time of New York University) had developed into an attractive, middle-class neighborhood of mainly Irish residents who had left the poorer sections of the South Bronx and Manhattan. A parochial high school was established in 1927, and plans were made for a larger church that would be built on adjacent property to the east, on the southwest corner of University Avenue and Fordham Road.
Construction on the present church began in the summer of 1927, and on September 11 of that same year the cornerstone was laid by the Rt. Rev. John J. Dunn, Auxiliary Bishop of New York. As designed by Delaney, O'Connor & Schultz, the new Gothic-style edifice would be built of rock-faced ashlar trimmed in limestone, and would cost about $1,000,000 when completed. The church was oriented with its liturgical West end actually facing east, fronting University Avenue, and the main portals were to be flanked by twin towers 150 feet in height.
The lower church would provide seating for 1,200 and the upper church, with a nave measuring 200 feet long and 64 feet wide, would have a seating capacity of 1,500. On April 29, 1928, the completed lower church was blessed by Cardinal Hayes. This basement space served as the main church for many years, due to financial restraints brought on in part by the Great Depression and World War II.
The upper church was completed in the 1950s and the church was consecrated in 1957.
Over the years, the demographics of the University Heights area have changed from being predominantly Irish and is now home to mainly Hispanic and Vietnamese immigrants. St. Nicholas of Tolentine, popularly known as "The Cathedral of the Bronx," has also evolved to meet the needs of its parishioners and offers services in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. |
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Geo. Kilgen & Son
St. Louis, Mo. – Opus 7517 (1951)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 40 stops, 38 ranks
The organ in the Upper Church was built in 1951 by Geo. Kilgen & Son of St. Louis. Charles Courboin, who was organist at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan from 1943-1973, designed the specifications. The fully-enclosed organ is installed behind oak grills in chambers on opposite sides of the rear gallery. Kilgen provided a three-manual stop-key console that is centered at the front edge of the gallery. |
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Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
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8 |
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Viola Pomposa |
73 |
4 |
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Spitz Flute |
73 |
8 |
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Concert Flute |
73 |
8 |
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Clarinet |
73 |
8 |
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Cor d'nuit |
73 |
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Tremolo |
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8 |
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Unda maris [TC] |
61 |
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Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed with Choir
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16 |
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Violone |
73 |
4 |
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Flute Harmonique |
73 |
8 |
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Diapason |
73 |
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Rausch Quinte II ranks |
122 |
8 |
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Hohl Flute |
73 |
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Fourniture III ranks |
183 |
8 |
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Gemshorn |
73 |
8 |
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Trumpet |
73 |
4 |
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Octave |
73 |
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Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
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16 |
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Flute Conique |
73 |
2 |
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Octavin |
61 |
8 |
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Geigen Diapason |
73 |
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Scharf IV ranks |
244 |
8 |
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Rohr Floete |
73 |
16 |
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Waldhorn |
73 |
8 |
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Viole d'Gamba |
73 |
8 |
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Trompette |
73 |
8 |
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Voix Celeste |
122 |
8 |
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Oboe |
73 |
4 |
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Principal |
73 |
4 |
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Clarion |
73 |
4 |
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Flute Harmonique |
73 |
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Tremolo |
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Pedal Organ – 32 notes
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32 |
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Sub Bourdon [resultant] |
— |
8 |
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Bass Flute [Bourdon] |
— |
16 |
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Contra Bass [unit] |
44 |
8 |
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Cello [Contra Bass] |
— |
16 |
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Bourdon [unit] |
44 |
8 |
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Rohr Floete |
SW |
16 |
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Violone |
GT |
4 |
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Super Octave [Octave] |
— |
16 |
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Flute Conique |
SW |
16 |
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Bombarde |
32 |
8 |
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Octave [unit] |
44 |
16 |
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Waldhorn |
SW |
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Couplers
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Great to Pedal 8' |
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Swell to Choir 16', 8', 4' |
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Swell to Pedal 8', 4' |
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Great to Great 4' |
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Choir to Pedal 8' |
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Swell to Swell 16', 4' |
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Swell to Great 16', 8', 4' |
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Choir to Choir 16', 4' |
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Choir to Great 16', 8', 4' |
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Adjustable Combinations
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| Great |
1-2-3-4-5-6 affecting Great stops (thumb) |
| Swell |
1-2-3-4-5-6 affecting Swell stops (thumb) |
| Choir |
1-2-3-4-5 affecting Choir stops (thumb) |
| Pedal |
1-2-3-4-5-6 affecting Pedal stops (thumb & toe) |
| General |
1-2-3-4-5-6 affecting all stops and couplers (thumb & toe) |
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Accessories
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Balanced Expression Pedal – Great & Choir |
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Great to Pedal Reversible (toe) |
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Balanced Expression Pedal – Swell |
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Full Organ (thumb & toe) |
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Crescendo Pedal |
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Organ installed in the Lower Church:
George Jardine & Son
New York City (1878)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 10 stops, 10 ranks
In 1927, a two-manual-and-pedal organ was installed in the Lower Church. Originally built in 1878 by George Jardine & Son for St. James Episcopal Church in Goshen, N.Y., the organ was moved and rebuilt for use in the Lower Church by William F. Smith. The following specifications were recorded (Jan. 12, 1940) by Louis F. Mohr & Co., an organ service concern in the area. Mohr noted that the organ had 17 front pipes in gold.
This organ was rebuilt again in 1978 by William E. Baker. In 1988, the organ was sold through the Organ Clearing House and moved to Trinity Episcopal Church, Shelburne, Vt. In 2008 and 2009, the organ was up for auction on eBay.com.
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Great Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes
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8 |
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Open Diapason |
58 |
8 |
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Melodia |
58 |
8 |
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Gamba |
58 |
2 |
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Flageolet |
58 |
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Swell Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes, enclosed
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8 |
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Diapason Bass |
17 |
4 |
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Clarionet Flute |
58 |
8 |
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Clarionet Flute [TF] |
41 |
4 |
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Violana |
58 |
8 |
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Dulciana [TF] |
41 |
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Tremulant |
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Pedal Organ – 27 notes
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16 |
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Bourdon |
27 |
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Couplers and Accessories
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Swell to Great [push buttons below Swell] |
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Balanced Swell Pedal |
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Great to Pedal |
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Swell to Pedal |
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Bellows Signal |
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Sources:
"A Success Story in Multiculturalism," Strangers and Aliens No Longer: The Hispanic Presence. Washington, DC, The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, 2004. http://www.jknirp.com/aliens.htm
"Bishop Lays Stone for Bronx Church," The New York Times (Sep. 12, 1927:8).
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.
Hermalyn, Gary and Robert Kornfeld. Landmarks of The Bronx. Bronx, NY: Bronx Historical Society, 1989.
Mohr, Louis F. & Co. Specifications (Jan. 12, 1940) of J.H. & C. S. Odell organ (1878). Courtesy Larry Trupiano.
Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
"New Church Blessed by Cardinal Hayes," The New York Times (Apr. 30, 1928:21).
Nieves, Evelyn. "Archdiocese Will Close a Bronx High School," The New York Times (May 17, 1991:82).
Paul Opel's Organ Home Page web site: http://www.sover.net/~popel/agomain.html. Specifications of Geo. Jardine & Son Organ (1878).
Shelley, Thomas J. The Bicentennial History of the Archdiocese of New York 1808-2008. Strasbourg: Éditions du Signe, 2007.
Photos:
eBay.com. Photos of Geo. Jardine & Son Organ (1878) in Trinity Episcopal Church, Shelburne, Vt.
Gilligan, Don. Church exterior from front.
Kirk-Foster, Daniel. Church exterior from side.
Oniffrey, David. Church interior; console and case of Geo. Kilgen & Son Organ, Op. 7517 (1951). |
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