St. Andrew Catholic Church - New York City
 
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Church of St. Andrew
(Roman Catholic)

20 Cardinal Hayes Place at Duane Street
New York, N.Y. 10007


Organ Specifications:
Present building (since 1939)
• III/ Rodgers Instruments electronic (1980s)
► III/33 Ernest M. Skinner & Son (1939)
First building (1843-1939)
• Henry Erben (1866)
• Henry Erben (1848)



1818 building for St. Andrew Catholic Church - New York City  
The Roman Catholic parish of St. Andrew was established in 1843 when Father Andrew Byrne transformed Carroll Hall into St. Andrew's Church. Built in 1818 for the Congregational Society of United Christian Friends, Carroll Hall was, in 1841, the site where Catholics rallied to fight denial of public funding for parochial schools. Father Byrne was the pastor until 1844, when he was named the first bishop of the new Diocese of Little Rock, comprised of the entire State of Arkansas and all of the Indian Territory, and was consecrated that year in St. Patrick's Cathedral. Cardinal Patrick J. Hayes, for whom the church's street was renamed, was born in a house next door to St. Andrew's Church, and was baptized here in 1867.

Tragedy struck the church in 1875 when, during a severe storm, the building next door collapsed, causing the ceiling of the church to drop onto 1,200 who were attending an evening mass during Lent. Many were killed or wounded, and a panic ensued because the main entrance of the church was locked.

In 1900, Father Luke J. Evers began a 2:30 am Mass for night workers who were employed in the nearby Printing House Square, where the Sun, Telegraph, Times, and World newspapers were then published. This tradition continued for more than 50 years, and the church became known as "The Printers' Church."

By the 1930s, the old 1818 church had become antiquated and somewhat dangerous, and plans were made for a new church on the same site. Maginnis & Walsh and Robert J. Reiley designed the present Neo-Georgian style church to harmonize with neighboring civic buildings. Archbishop Francis J. Spellman dedicated the new church on November 30, 1939.
           
Rodgers Instruments LLC
Hillsboro, Ore. – Model 926 (1980s)
Electronic tonal production
3 manuals


Sometime in the 1980s the church purchased a three-manual Rodgers electronic instrument.
           
Ernest M. Skinner & Son
Methuen, Mass. (1939)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 38 registers, 30 stops, 33 ranks


The original organ for the present church was built in 1939 by Ernest M. Skinner & Son and installed in the gallery. As of 2007, the organ was extant but unplayable.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes
8
   First Diapason
61
4
   Octave
61
8
   Second Diapason
61
4
   Flute
61
8
   Principal Flute
61
2
   Fifteenth
61
8
   Erzähler
61
     Blank knob  
               
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
73
4
   Violina
73
8
   Diapason
73
     Mixture IV ranks
244
8
   Gedackt
73
16
   Waldhorn
73
8
   Salicional
73
8
   Cornopean
73
8
   Voix Celeste
73
8
   Cor d'Amour
73
8
   Flauto Dolce
73
8
   Vox Humana
61
8
   Flute Celeste (TC)
61
     Tremolo  
4
   Flute
73
        
               
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Gemshorn * (unit)
73
4
   Flute
73
8
   Diapason
73
2 2/3
   Nazard
61
8
   Concert Flute
73
8
   Clarinet
61
8
   Gamba
73
     Tremolo  
           
* unenclosed
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
32
   Resultant
—
8
   Principal (fr. Gemshorn)
CH
16
   Diapason
44
8
  Still Gedeckt
SW
16
   Gemshorn
CH
5 1/3
   Quinte (fr. Gemshorn)
CH
16
   Echo Lieblich
SW
16
   Fagotto
44
8
   Octave (fr. 16' Diap.)
—
8
   Fagotto (fr. 16')
—
           
Organ in previous building:

Henry Erben
New York City (1866)
Mechanical action


Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
           
Organ in previous building:

Henry Erben
New York City (1848)
Mechanical action


The original organ in St. Andrew's Church was built in 1848 by Henry Erben of New York City. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
           
Sources:
     "Andrew Byrne," The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. III. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908.
     Dunlap, David W. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
     "Killed at Prayer," The New York Times, February 26, 1875.
     Mahanor, Tali. Stoplist of Ernest M Skinner & Son organ (1939).
     "St. Andrew's Church To Get New Building," The New York Times (May 28, 1933).
     Smith, Rollin. Electronic correspondence (Feb. 27, 2011) with additions to stoplist of Ernest M Skinner & Son organ (1939).
     "Spellman Blesses New St. Andrew's," The New York Times (Dec. 1, 1939).

Illustrations:
     Brydon, Mac (www.grandtradition.net). Exterior.
     eBay.com. Undated postcard of previous church.