click on images to enlarge Church of the Holy Trinity (Inwood) (Episcopal) 20 Cumming Street New York, N.Y. 10034 http://www.holytrinityinwood.org Organ Specifications: 20 Cumming Street at Seaman Avenue (since 1935) ► II/6 Austin Organ Company, Op. 1591 (1928) 230 Lenox Avenue at 122nd Street (1888-1935) ► III/43 Hillgreen, Lane and Company, Op. 724 (1923) – burned 1925 ► III/36 Hook & Hastings, Op. 1392 (1888) Fifth Avenue at 125th Street (1870-burned 1888) • II/21 J.H. & C.S. Odell, Op. 170 (1880) ► III/28 Levi Stuart (1870) Holy Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church of Harlem was founded in 1868, shortly after the close of the American Civil War. The first church, located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 125th Street, was designed by John W. Welch and built from 1869-70. A great fire in 1888 destroyed the building, and the land was sold to Temple Israel.     Lenox Avenue & 122nd Street A new church, on the southwest corner of Lenox Avenue and 122nd Street, was designed by William A. Potter and completed in 1888. Built on a 100-by-150-foot site, Potter's imposing Romanesque Revial church complex included a rectory and extensive parish house. The exterior was faced with rough red granite trimmed with sandstone, and over the entrance is a massive square tower topped by a pyramidal roof. The interior provided seating for 1,000, and featured transept galleries supported by iron columns and a vaulted ceiling. In 1925, a devastating fire gutted the church interior and destroyed an organ installed in 1923. At the time, Harlem was in a population flux as a growing black American population moved to the area. In response, many white residents sold their magnificent brownstones and relocated elsewhere. The vestry of Holy Trinity Church, in keeping with prevailing thoughts at the time, decided to take the opportunity afforded by the fire to sell the church and relocate. In 1927, after much discussion, Holy Trinity agreed to merge with a small but dynamic mission church in Inwood, called Holy Redeemer, at Seaman Avenue and Isham. The simple wood frame church of Holy Redeemer stood where the tennis courts of Inwood Hill Park now stand. Financially there was a merger, but most parishioners came from the Holy Redeemer Parish. With the generous proceeds from the sale of the old Harlem church location, new land was purchased on the corner of Cumming Street and Seaman Avenue. There, the church planned to erect a tall Gothic Moderne church with towering flèche, but then the stock market crashed and the Depression began. Plans were suspended, and the parish moved forward with only the lower portion of the planned sanctuary and a community house, as designed by Springsteen & Goldhammer and built in 1935. The upper sanctuary and rectory were never constructed.                 Austin Organ Company Hartford, Conn. – Opus 1591 (1928) Electro-pneumatic action 2 manuals, 11 stops, 6 ranks This two-manual Austin organ is entirely enclosed in one chamber.                 Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed 8   Open Diapason 73 8   Dulciana SW 8   Stopped Diapason SW 4   Harmonic Flute SW                 Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed 8   Stopped Diapason 73 4   Harmonic Flute 73 8   Salicional 73 8   Oboe 73 8   Vox Celeste 73   Tremolo               Pedal Organ – 32 notes 16   Bourdon [ext.] 12         16   Dulciana [ext.] 12                                     Organ in previous church on Lenox Avenue and 122nd Street: Hillgreen, Lane and Company Alliance, Ohio – Opus 724 (1923) Electro-pneumatic action 3 manuals, 57 stops, 43 ranks On May 15, 1923, a contract was signed with the Hillgreen, Lane and Company of Alliance, Ohio, to repair and improve the 1888 Hook & Hastings organ. Hillgreen, Lane reused most of the old pipes, providing additional chests and pipes to extend most manual ranks to 61 or 73 notes, and the pedal ranks to 32 notes. A total of seven new ranks were added, including three in the Swell, and four in a new enclosed Auxiliary division located in the North Gallery. The rebuilt organ was converted to electro-pneumatic action, and a new electric console was installed. Total cost of the project was $8,800.00. This organ burned when a fire gutted the church interior in 1925.                 Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed with Choir 16   Diapason 73 2 2/3   Twelfth 58 8   Major Diapason 73 2   Fifteenth 58 8   Minor Diapason 73   Mixture IV ranks 232 8   Viola di Gamba 73 8   Trumpet 73 8   Double Flute 73 16   Tuba AUX 8   Major Flute AUX 8   Tuba AUX 4   Flute Harmonique 73 4   Tuba Clarion AUX 4   Octave 73                     Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed 16   Bourdon 73 4   Minor Flute AUX 8   Diapason 73 4   Flauto Traverso 73 8   Salicional 73 2   Flagelolet 73 8   Violin * 73   Dolce Cornet III ranks 174 8   Dolce Celeste [old Aeoline] 73 8   Cornopean 73 8   Aeoline * 73 8   Oboe 73 8   Viole d'Orchestre AUX 8   Vox Humana * 73 8   Viole Celeste AUX 8   Tuba AUX 8   Major Flute AUX 4   Tuba Clarion AUX 8   Stopped Flute 73   Tremolo 4   Violetta AUX   Vox Humana Tremolo 4   Violetta Celeste AUX                     Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed with Great 8   Violin Diapason 73 4   Violetta AUX 8   Dulciana 73 4   Violetta Celeste AUX 8   Unda Maris 58 4   Minor Flute AUX 8   Viole d'Orchestre AUX 4   Flute d'Amour 73 8   Viole Celeste AUX 2   Flautino AUX 8   Major Flute AUX 8   Clarinet 73 8   Melodia 73   Tremolo 8   Quintadena 73                       Pedal Organ – 32 notes, enclosed 32   Resultant [Diap. + Bdn.] — 8   Flute [ext. 16' Diapason] 12 16   Diapason 32 8   Tuba AUX 16   Major Bourdon 32 16   Trombone 32 16   Minor Bourdon SW                     Auxiliary Organ – 61 notes, enclosed [located in North Gallery] 16   Tuba * 85 8   Viole d'Orchestre * 85 8   Tuba — 4   Violetta — 4   Tuba Clarion — 8   Viole Celeste * 73 8   Major Flute * 85 4   Violetta Celeste — 4   Minor Flute —   Tremolo 2   Flautino —     * ranks added by Hillgreen, Lane (1923)             Couplers     Great to Pedal 8'       Great to Swell 8'     Swell to Pedal 8', 4'       Swell to Choir 16', 8', 4'     Choir to Pedal 8'       Great 4', Unison Separation     Pedal 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'                           Combinations     Operated by pistons and adjustable at the keyboard.     5 pistons under each manual, controlling all stops and couplers.     15 pistons in all.                 Pedal Movements     Great to Pedal Reversible   Swell Expression     Auxilliary Expression   Great & Choir Expression     Crescendo   Sforzando                 Organ in previous church at Lenox Avenue and 122nd Street: Hook & Hastings Co. Boston, Mass. – Opus 1392 (1888) Mechanical action 3 manuals, 31 stops, 36 ranks For their new church on Lenox Avenue, an organ was built in 1888 by the Hook & Hastings company of Boston. The following stoplist was documented by Gustav F. Döhring, the Eastern Representative for Hillgreen, Lane & Co., who also wrote that the organ had tracker action, "but the draw stops are pneumatic."                 Great Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes 16   Open Diapason 58 4   Flute Harmonique 58 8   Open Diapason 58 2 2/3   Twelfth 58 8   Viola di Gamba 58 2   Fifteenth 58 8   Doppel Flute 58   Mixture IV ranks 232 4   Octave 58 8   Trumpet 58                 Swell Organ (Manual III) – 58 notes, enclosed 16   Bourdon 58 4   Flauto Traverso 58 8   Open Diapason 58 2   Flageolet 58 8   Stopped Diapason 58   Dolce Cornet III ranks 174 8   Salicional 58 8   Cornopean 58 8   Quintadena 58 8   Oboe 58 4   Violina 58   Tremulant                 Choir Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes 8   Geigen Principal 58 4   Fugara 58 8   Dulciana 58 2   Piccolo 58 8   Melodia 58 8   Clarinet 58             Pedal Organ – 27 notes 16   Open Diapason 27 8   Violoncello 27 16   Bourdon 27 16   Trombone 27                 Couplers     Swell to Great       Swell to Pedal       Swell to Choir       Great to Pedal       Choir to Great       Choir to Pedal                    Organ in previous church at Fifth Avenue and 125th Street: J.H. & C.S. Odell & Co. New York City – Opus 170 (1880) Mechanical action 3 manuals, 20 stops The Odell company built a three-manual organ in 1880 for the rebuilt church that had been destroyed. This organ was moved to Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Cathedral in Sacramento, CA, where it was restored c.1990 by Edward Millington Stout III. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.                 Organ in previous church at Fifth Avenue and 125th Street: Levi U. Stuart New York City (1870) Mechanical action 3 manuals, 28 stops, 28 ranks Levi U. Stuart, half-brother to organbuilder Richard Ferris, built his last three-manual organ for the original Church of the Holy Trinity, Harlem, located on Fifth Avenue at 125th Street. The church and organ were destroyed by fire in 1880.                 Great Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes 16   Double Open Diapason 58 3   Twelfth 58 8   Open Diapason 58 2   Fifteenth 58 8   Melodia 58 8   Trumpet 58 4   Principal 58 4   Clarion 58                 Swell Organ (Manual III) – 58 notes, enclosed 16   Bourdon 58 8   Hautboy 58 8   Open Diapason 58 8   Cornopean 58 8   Stop Diapason 58 8   Vox Humana 58 4   Harmonic Flute 58   [Tremulant] 2   Fifteenth 58                     Choir Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes 8   Stop Diapason 58 4   Flute 58 8   Salicional 58 2   Piccolo 58 8   Dulciana 58 8   Cremona 58 4   Principal 58                 Pedal Organ – 29 notes 16   Double Open Diapason 29 8   Violoncello 29 16   Gamba 29 16   Bombard 29 12   Quint 29                         Sources:      Austin Organs Inc. website: www.austinorgans.com      Dolkart, Andrew S. and Gretchen S. Sorin. Touring Historic Harlem: Four Walks in Northern Manhattan. New York: New York Landmarks Conservancy, 1997.      Dunlap, David W. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.      Holy Trinity Episcopal Church website: www.holytrinityinwood.org/      Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.      Ochse, Orpha. Austin Organs. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 2001.      Ogasapian, John. Organ Building in New York City: 1700-1900. Braintree: The Organ Literature Foundation, 1977.       "Spectacular Blaze Razes Holy Trinity," The New York Times, April 16, 1925.      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 Hillgreen, Lane & Co. Organ, Op. 724 (1923).      Trupiano, Larry. Specifications of Hook & Hastings Organ, Op. 1391 (1888). Photos:      Holy Trinity Episcopal Church: photo of church on Lenox Avenue.      LaJolla, Diego: Photos of Austin Organ, Op. 1591 (1928); present church.                 | NYC AGO Home Page | Back to NYC Organ Project List |