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Church of St. Thomas More
(Roman Catholic)
65 East 89th Street at Madison Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10128
http://www.thomasmorechurch.org
The Roman Catholic Church of St. Thomas More was established in 1950 by Cardinal Spellman to serve the Carnegie Hill area of Manhattan. St. Thomas More, the church's patron saint, was the first layman to hold the post of Lord Chancellor of England. He resigned in protest over the divorce of King Henry VIII from Queen Catherine, and was ultimated beheaded after he refused to acknowledge the King as the head of the English Church. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1935.
Somewhat ironically, the edifice was built in 1870 as the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Beloved Disciple, as was established by St. Luke's Episcopal Church to serve the Home for Indigent Christian Females. Originally located near St. Luke's building at Hudson and Grove Streets, the home's move to 89th Street
meant its elderly residents could no longer conveniently attend services. Miss Caroline Talman, who was active in Episcopal philanthrophy, agreed to finance the Country Gothic church, designed by Hubert & Pirsson. The Church of the Beloved Disciple continued until the mid-1920's, when the Church of the Heavenly Rest, a much
larger congregation (then at Fifth Avenue and 45th Street) began its present
building nearby at Fifth Avenue and 90th Street. Beloved Disciple agreed to merge with Heavenly
Rest, retaining its identity in the naming of a chapel in the new
building. The old church was sold in 1929 to the Eighty-ninth Street Reformed congregation, and
then in 1950 to the Roman Catholic Church of St. Thomas More. |
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Lively-Fulcher Organs
Washington, D.C. (1998)
Electric slider action
2 manuals, 23 stops, 26 ranks |
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Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes
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16 |
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Bourdon |
61 |
4 |
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Open Flute |
61 |
8 |
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Open Diapason |
61 |
2 |
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Fifteenth |
61 |
8 |
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Stopped Flute |
61 |
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Furniture IV ranks |
244 |
8 |
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Harmonic Flute |
61 |
8 |
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Trumpet |
61 |
4 |
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Principal |
61 |
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Tremulant |
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Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
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8 |
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Chimney Flute |
61 |
2 |
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Harmonic Flageolet |
61 |
8 |
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Salicional |
61 |
1 1/3 |
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Larigot |
61 |
8 |
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Voix Celeste [TC] |
49 |
8 |
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Hautboy |
61 |
4 |
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Principal |
61 |
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Tremulant |
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4 |
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Tapered Flute |
61 |
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Pedal Organ – 32 notes
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16 |
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Subbass |
32 |
4 |
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Fifteenth |
32 |
8 |
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Principal |
32 |
16 |
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Trombone |
32 |
8 |
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Bass Flute |
32 |
8 |
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Trumpet |
32 |
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Chapel Organ
Flentrop Orgelbouw
Zaandam, The Netherlands (1960)
Mechanical action
1 manual, 6 stops, 7 ranks
This small organ was built in 1960 for St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, Penn. About 1966, the organ was sold to a private individual who planned to install it in his West Side residence in New York City. For several years, though, the organ was stored in The Spike, a bar on Eleventh Avenue at 20th Street in Chelsea. About 1990, the organ was moved to St. Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church on West End Avenue. Around 1995, the organ was relocated to St. Thomas More Church. |
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Manuaal – 56 notes
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8 |
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Holpijp |
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8 |
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Quintadeen |
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4 |
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Prestant |
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4 |
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Roerfluit |
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2 |
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Gemshoorn |
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Cymbel I-II fach |
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Pedaal – 32 notes
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permanently coupled to manuaal |
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Known previous organ, built for the Church of the Beloved Disciple:
M. P. Möller, Inc.
Hagerstown, Md. – Opus 1808 (1914)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 30 registers
Specifications for this organ have not yet been located. |
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Known previous organ, built for the Church of the Beloved Disciple:
Müller & Abel
New York City (after 1893)
Mechanical action?
2 manuals
Specifications for this organ have not yet been located. |
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Sources:
"Church on 89th St. Receives Blessings," The New York Times, July 10, 1950.
Dunlap, David. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
Flentrop Orgelbouw website: http://www.flentrop.nl/indexuk.html
M.P. Möller Opus List, courtesy Jeff Scofield.
Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
Photos:
Flentrop Orgelbouw: Flentrop organ (1960)
Lawson, Steven E.: church exterior and interior |
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