Church of St. Peter (Roman Catholic) 16 Barclay Street at Church Street New York, N.Y. 10007 Organ Specifications: Present building (since 1836) ► IV/37 Geo. Kilgen & Son, Op. 4740 (1931) ► IV/36 Geo. Kilgen & Son, Op. 3976 (1927) • III/38s Henry Erben (1838) First building (1785-1836) • Henry Erben (1824)   Original St. Peter's Church (1785-1836)       Old St. Peter's is the Mother Church of Catholic New York, as it is the oldest Roman Catholic parish in New York City and New York State. The Roman Catholic Church was not permitted to function in New York during the Dutch and British colonial periods, except for the administration of Gov. Thomas Dongan (1683-88), who was himself Catholic. The American Revolution changed all this, and in 1785, after the British evacuation of New York, St. Peter’s Church was founded. Property was acquired on Barclay Street, and the first church constructed on the site of the present church. St. Peter's Parish opened the first Catholic school in the state of New York in 1800. Elizabeth Ann Seton was received into the Roman Catholic Church at St. Peter's in 1805. Born in New York City in 1774, Elizabeth often prayed before The Crucifixion painting above St. Peter's main altar. (This painting by Mexican artist Jose Vallejo was a gift from the archbishop of Mexico City in 1789.) A widow and mother of five, the former Episcopalian eventually went on to found the Sisters of Charity. Elizabeth was the first person born in the (soon-to-be) United States to become a canonized saint (September 14, 1975). The cornerstone of the present Greek Revival granite building with six Ionic columns was laid in 1836, as designed by John R. Haggerty and Thomas Thomas. St. Peter's was the first church in the archdiocese to offer midday services, and by the 1940s St. Peter's was becoming more of a service church as the financial district gave way to stores and tall office buildings, with thousands entering the area each day for work. In 1965, St. Peter's was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The church is located just north of the World Trade Center towers, and was a staging area for emergency responders. The body of the Rev. Mychal Judge, Chaplain to the New York City Fire Department and officially the first casualty of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, was brought to St. Peter's by firefighters and laid before the altar.     Geo. Kilgen & Son St. Louis, Mo. – Opus 4740 (1931) Electro-pneumatic action 4 manuals, 94 stops, 37 ranks From The Diapason (June 1931): "The Rev. Father Noonan, pastor of St. Peter's Catholic Church, New York City, who is planning on reconstructing his present church building, has conceived the idea of moving the Kilgen organ from the west gallery down to the sanctuary. As his plans developed, the scheme was enlarged and in consultation with this organist, Robert W. Wilkes, the scheme finally adopted was not only to move the great organ, but to place an Echo over the old chamber in the gallery and add a Solo organ to the main organ in the sanctuary, placing the Great and Choir on one side of the chancel and the Swell over the choir room on the other side, behind which was placed the Solo organ. A new four-manual console of the wing-type cathedral style will be placed in the sanctuary and a new 10-horsepower blower is included in the contract."                 Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed 16   Diapason [unit] 85 4   Flute CH 8   First Diapason 61 4   Dulciana — 8   Second Diapason — 4   Dulciana Celeste — 8   Violin Diapason CH 2 2/3   Flute CH 8   Double Flute 61 2   Flute CH 8   Claribel Flute CH 1 3/5   Flute CH 8   Viola CH   String Mixture III ranks CH 8   Dulciana [unit] 85   Dulciana Mixture V ranks CH 8   Dulciana Celeste [TC, unit] 66 8   Tuba 61 4   Octave —   Chimes 25 tubes             Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed 16   Bourdon 61 2 2/3   Gedeckt — 8   Diapason 73 2   Flute — 8   Gedeckt [unit] 85 1 3/5   Gedeckt — 8   Harmonic Flute 73 8   Cornopean 73 8   Flute Celeste [TC] 61 8   Oboe 73 8   Salicional 73 16   Vox Humana [TC] — 8   Salicional Celeste [TC] 61 8   Vox Humana 73 4   Flute [Harm. Fl.] —   Tremolo 4   Gedeckt —                 Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed 16   Viola [unit] 97 4   Viola Celeste — 8   Violin Diapason 73 4   Dulciana Celeste GT 8   Tibia [unit] 85 4   Flute — 8   Violin 73 2 2/3   Viola — 8   Quintadena 73 2 2/3   Dulciana Celeste GT 8   Viola — 2   Viola — 8   Viola Celeste [TC] 73 2   Dulciana Celeste GT 8   Gemshorn 73 1 3/5   Viola — 8   Gemshorn Celeste 73 1 3/5   Dulciana Celeste GT 8   Dulciana Celeste GT   Dulciana Mixture V ranks GT 8   Claribel Flute 73 8   Clarinet 73 5 1/3   Viola —   Heavy Tremolo 4   Viola —   Light Tremolo                 Solo Organ (Manual IV) – 61 notes, enclosed 16   Clarabella [unit] 85 8   French Horn 73 8   Stentorphone 73 8   English Horn 73 8   Clarabella — 4   Tuba — 4   Clarabella —   Tremolo 16   Tuba 85   Chimes GT 8   Tuba —                     Echo Organ – 61 notes, enclosed 8   Gedeckt [unit] 85 4   Salicional — 8   Echo Salicional [unit] 85 8   Vox Humana 73 8   Salicional Celeste 61   Tremolo 4   Flute —   Chimes GT             Pedal Organ – 32 notes 32   Diapason [unit] 56 8   Clarabella SO 16   First Diapason — 8   Dolce Flute SW 16   Second Diapason GT 8   Violin CH 16   Bourdon [unit] 44 8   Dulciana GT 16   Clarabella SO 16   Tuba SO 16   Gedeckt SW 16   Trombone [ext. SW] 12 16   Viola CH 8   Tuba SO 10 2/3   Quint —     10 2/3   Dolce Quint SW   Echo Pedal 8   Octave — 16   Bourdon [ext. EC] 12 8   Flute — 8   Gedeckt EC     Geo. Kilgen & Son St. Louis, Mo. – Opus 3976 (1927) Electro-pneumatic action 4 manuals, 68 stops, 36 ranks                 Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed with Choir 16   Diapason [unit] 73 4   Flute — 8   First Diapason 61 4   Unda Maris II ranks [ext.] 24 8   Second Diapason — 2 2/3   Flute Twelfth — 8   Third Diapason 61 2   Flute Fifteenth — 8   Doppel Flute 61   Dulciana Mixture V ranks 305 8   Concert Flute [unit] 85   String Mixture III ranks — 8   Viola CH 8   Tuba Mirabilis 61 8   Dulciana 61   Tremolo 8   Unda Maris 61   Chimes * 21 tubes 4   Octave 61   * in Echo             Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed 16   Bourdon [unit] 97 2 2/3   Nazard — 8   Open Diapason 73 2   Piccolo — 8   Gedeckt — 1 3/5   Tierce — 8   Salicional 73 16   Vox Humana [TC] — 8   String Celeste 73 8   Cornopean 73 8   Harmonic Flute 73 8   Oboe 73 8   Flute Celeste [TC] 49 8   Vox Humana 61 4   Flute —   Tremolo 4   Flauto Traverso [Harm. Fl.] —                 Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed 16   Contra Viola [unit] 97 4   Violetta — 8   Violin Diapason 73 4   Unda Maris II ranks GT 8   Violin 61 2 2/3   Viola Twelfth — 8   Claribel Flute 61 2   Viola Fifteenth — 8   Tibia Clausa 73 1 3/5   Viola Seventeenth — 8   Quintadena 73   Dulciana Mixture V ranks GT 8   Viola — 8   Clarinet 73 8   Unda Maris II ranks GT   Tremolo 4   Flute —   Chimes                 Echo Organ (Manual IV) – 61 notes, enclosed 8   Gedeckt PED 4   Vox Angelica 73 8   Echo Salicional 73 8   Vox Humana [sep. box] 73 8   Celeste 73   Tremolo 4   Flute PED                 Pedal Organ – 32 notes 32   Resultant — 8   Flute — 16   First Diapason [unit] 44 8   Dolce Flute SW 16   Second Diapason GT 8   Viola CH 16   Bourdon [unit] 44 16   Tuba [ext. GT] 12 16   Gedeckt SW   Echo Pedal 16   Contra Viola CH 16   Bourdon [unit] 44 8   Octave — 8   Gedeckt —     Henry Erben New York City (1838) Mechanical action 3 manuals, 38 stops The remains of the 1838 Erben case are extant in the gallery of the church. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.     Organ in original building: Henry Erben New York City (1824) Mechanical action Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.     Sources:      The Diapason, October 1927. Specifications of Geo. Kilgen & Son organ, Op. 3976 (1927); courtesy Jeff Scofield.      The Diapason, June 1931. Specifications of Geo. Kilgen & Son organ, Op. 4740 (1931); courtesy Jeff Scofield.      Dolkart, Andrew S. and Matthew A. Postal. Guide to New York City Landmarks (Third Edition). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2004.      Dunlap, David W. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.      Lawn, Sand. Henry Erben Opus List; courtesy of David Scribner.      The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society website: www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org Photos:      Church Crawler <www.churchcrawler.co.uk>: exterior   | NYC AGO Home Page | Back to NYC Organ Project List |