Welte-Mignon Building, 695 Fifth Avenue - New York City (Wurts Bros., 1927)
  695 Fifth Avenue (1927-1931)
  Welte-Mignon Building, 665 Fifth Avenue - New York City (Wurts Bros., ca.1910)
  665 Fifth Avenue (1916-1927)
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Welte-Mignon Studio

695 Fifth Avenue at 54th Street
New York, N.Y. 10022


Organ Specifications:
695 Fifth Avenue at 54th Street (1927-1931)
► III/38 Welte-Mignon (1927)
665 Fifth Avenue at 53rd Street (1916-1927)
► III/28 Welte & Sons (1916)
273 Fifth Avenue at 29th Street (1910-1916)
• various orchestrions



M. Welte & Sons Studio (c.1912) - New York City  
273 Fifth Avenue (1910-1916)
  
               
  Welte-Mignon Organ (1927) in Welte-Mignon Studio - New York City
   
  Welte-Mignon Organ (1927) in Welte-Mignon Studio - New York City
Organs in studio at 695 Fifth Avenue at 54th Street:

Welte-Mignon Corporation
Bronx, N.Y. (1927)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 92 stops, 38 ranks






This organ included a three-manual concert console plus a three-manual roll-recording console attached to the case at the opposite end of the showroom.
               
C O N C E R T   C O N S O L E
               
Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
    First Touch       Second Touch  
16
   Contra Dulciana
97
8
   Diapason [Diaphonic]
GT
8
   English Diapason
GT
8
   Tibia
GT
8
   Concert Flute
85
8
   Cellos III ranks
SW
8
   Gemshorn
—
4
   Flute [Tibia]
GT
8
   Dulciana
73
8
   Tuba
GT
8
   Unda Maris
73
8
   Clarinet
—
4
   Traverse Flute
—
8
   Oboe Horn
SW
4
   Gemshorn
—
8
   Chimes
EC
2
   Piccolo
—
2
   Glockenspiel
—
8
   French Horn
73
     Great to Choir 8'  
8
   Clarinet
73
     Swell to Choir 8'  
8
  
Harp
49 notes
       
4
   Celesta          
2
  
Glockenspiel
37 notes
       
8
   Piano
GT
        
4
   Piano
GT
        
    Choir 16', 4', Unison Off          
    Swell to Choir 16', 8', 4'          
 
      
 
      
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Double Diapason [Eng.]
85
1
  Twenty-second
—
8
   Diapason Phonon
85
     Mixture V ranks [collective]
305
8
   English Diapason
—
8
   Tuba
97
8
   Tibia Minor
97
4
   Cornet [Tuba]
—
8
   Concert Flute
CH
8
   Chimes
EC
8
   Gamba
73
8
   Harp
CH
8
   Gemshorn
CH
4
   Celesta
CH
4
   Octave [Eng. Diap.]
—
2
   Glockenspiel
CH
4
   Flute Couverte [Tibia]
—
8
  
Piano
88 notes
2 2/3
   Twelfth
—
4
   Piano
—
2
   Fifteenth
—
     Great 16', 4', Unison Off  
1 3/5
   Seventeenth
—
     Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'  
1 1/3
   Nineteenth
—
     Choir to Great 16', 8', 4'  
               
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Lieblich Gedeckt
97
16
   Contra Fagotto
97 [sic]
8
   Open Diapason
73
8
   Trumpet
73
8
   Philomela
73
8
   Oboe Horn
—
8
   Bourdon
73
8
   English Horn
73
8
   Viola
97
8
   Vox Humana
73
8
   Violes Celestes II ranks
146
8
   Muted Trumpet
61
         [flat and sharp]  
4
   Clarion
73
8
   Aeoline
73
8
   Harp
CH
8
   Vox Angelica
73
4
   Celesta
CH
4
   Violin
—
2
   Glockenspiel
CH
4
   Wald Flute
—
8
   Piano
GT
2 2/3
   Nazard
—
4
   Piano
GT
2
   Flautino
—
     Swell 16', 4', Unison Off  
1 3/5
   Tierce
—
     Choir to Swell 8'  
 
      
 
      
Pedal Organ – 32 notes, enclosed
32
   Acoustic Bass [Tibia]
—
4
   Flute
CH
16
   Diaphonic Diapason
GT
16
   Tuba Profunda
GT
16
   Bourdon [Tibia]
GT
16
   Contra Fagotto
SW
16
   Violone
SW
8
   Tuba Horn
GT
16
   Contra Dulciana
CH
8
   Bassoon
SW
16
   Lieblich Gedeckt
SW
8
   Chimes
EC
8
   Octave
GT
16
   Piano
GT
8
   Viola
SW
8
   Piano
GT
8
   Cellos II ranks
SW
     Choir to Pedal 8'  
8
   Open Flute
CH
     Great to Pedal 8'  
8
   Gedeckt
SW
     Swell to Pedal 8', 4'  
4
   Violin III ranks
SW
        
               
E C H O
In a basement chamber, speaking through a tone chute and
an ornamental iron grill in the wall opposite the main organ.
               
Accompaniment Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Horn Diapason
—
4
   Viola
—
8
   Cor de Nuit
—
8
  
Chimes
20 notes
8
   Viola Aetheria
—
4
   Celesta
—
8
   Vox Angelica
—
     Main Off  
4
   Flute
—
        
               
Solo Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Contre Viole
85
4
   Viola
—
8
   Horn Diapason
73
2
   Echo Piccolo
—
8
   Cor de Nuit
97
8
   Corno d'Amore
73
8
   Quintadena
73
8
   Vox Humana
61
8
   Viola Aetheria
—
4
  
Celesta
37 notes
8
   Vox Angelica
73
     Echo 16', 4'  
4
   Flute
—
     Main Off  
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
—
     Accomp. to Pedal 8'  
8
   Gedeckt
—
     Solo to Pedal 8'  
8
   Viola
—
     Main Off  
               
Adjustable Combinations (remote control – inside setter)
    Seven toe pistons affecting stops and couplers of Pedal organ
    Seven double touch pistons affecting stops and couplers of Choir and Pedal organs
    Seven double touch pistons affecting stops and couplers of Great and Pedal organs
    Seven double touch pistons affecting stops and couplers of Swell and Pedal organs
    Five pistons affecting stops and couplers of Echo and its Pedal organ
    Ten universal key touches affecting stops and couplers of entire organ
    On and off switch connecting couplers to manual and pedal combinations
    On and off switch connecting octave couplers of each manual to its manual combinations
    Five cancel key touches affecting respective groups
    General cancel key touches affecting entire organ, duplicated by toe piston
    Combination setter piston
    Tremolo cancel piston
               
Tremolos
    Tremolo for Choir (light wind stops)   Tremolo for Echo
    Tremolo for Great (heavy wind stops)   Vibrato for Vox Humana, main organ
    Tremolo for Swell   Vibrato for Vox Humana, echo organ
           
R E C O R D I N G   C O N S O L E
               
Echo Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Cor de Nuit  
8
   Vox Humana  
8
   Viola Aetheria       Tremolo  
8
   Quintadena       Echo 16', 4'  
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   English Diapason  
8
   French Horn  
8
   Concert Flute  
8
   Harp  
8
   Gamba  
8
   Chimes  
8
   Dulciana       Great 16', 4', Unison Off  
8
   Unda Maris       Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'  
4
   Traverse Flute          
               
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Open Diapason  
8
   Cornopean Bass  
8
   Philomela  
8
   Cornopean Treble  
8
   Bourdon  
8
   Trumpet  
8
   Viola  
8
   Oboe Horn  
8
   Flauto Dolce  
8
   Vox Humana  
8
   Aeoline       Tremolo  
16
   Clarinet       Swell 16', 4', Unison Off  
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon  
16
   Tuba Profunda  
16
   Violone       Great to Pedal 8'  
16
   Lieblich Gedeckt       Swell to Pedal 8', 4'  
8
   Flute          
               
Adjustable Combinations(Recorder Board)
    Six double touch pistons affecting Great and Pedal stops and couplers
    Six double touch pistons affecting Swell and Pedal stops and couplers
    Three pistons affecting Echo stops and couplers
    Six universal pistons affecting stops and couplers of entire organ
    One double touch cancel piston for Great and Pedal stops and couplers
    One double touch cancel piston for Swell and Pedal stops and couplers
    One Echo cancel piston
    One universal cancel piston
               
Accessories
    Balanced Expression Pedal – Main organ   Swell to Pedal Reversible
    Balanced Expression Pedal – Echo organ   Indicators for Crescendo, etc.
    Balanced Crescendo Pedal   Cancel for Concert console
    Great to Pedal reversible    
               
Reproduction Controls
    Starter       Re-roll  
    Tempo       Repeat  
               
Recording Accessories
    Signal light from and signal button to recording machine
    Dictograph at Console and Recorder
             
  Welte-Mignon Organ (1916) in Welte-Mignon Studio - New York City
   
Organ in studio located at 665 Fifth Avenue at 53rd Street:

Welte & Sons Co.
Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (1916)
Actually built by the Ernest M. Skinner Company
Boston, Mass. – Opus 253 (1916)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 33 stops, 28 ranks



This organ was subcontracted to the Ernest M. Skinner Company (Op. 253) by Welte & Sons Company of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. It was subsequently sold to Eugene I. Meyer and installed in his 28,322-square-foot mansion at "Seven Springs" in Mt. Kisco, N.Y. Mr. Meyer (1875–1959) was an American financier, public official, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, first President of the World Bank, and publisher of the Washington Post newspaper. He was the father of Katharine Graham, who took over the reins of the Post in 1963.

Welte & Son organ (1916) in Speyer Technik Museum, Germany  
Welte Organ relocated to Speyer Technik Museum  
At an unknown time, possibly in the 1970s when the estate was given to Yale University, the organ was sold to Marion R. Frazier of New York City, who installed it in his Automatic Instrument Company studio. In 1990 Frazier sold the organ to Claes O. Friburg, Copenhagen, Denmark, but in 1991 the organ was crated and stored in Shaftsbury, Vt.

In 1993 the organ was acquired by the Speyer Technik Museum, Speyer, German, where it was restored by Gotthard Arnold and his team of the "Fachstätte Historischer Musikautomaten".
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Open Diapason
73
4
   Principal
61
8
   Violin Diapason
73
4
   Flute Harmonic
61
8
   Flute Traverso
73
8
   Bassoon (Fagotto)
73
8
   Violin Solo
73
    
Harp
61 notes
8
   Viol d'Orchestre
73
8
  
Chimes
25 notes
8
   Voix Celeste
73
        
 
     
 
     
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Diapason
73
16
   Clarinet
61
8
   Horn (Gross Flute)
73
8
   Oboe
61
8
   Bourdon
73
8
   Cor Anglais
61
8
   Flute Dolce
73
8
   Vox Humana
61
8
   Viola di Gamba
73
     Tremulant  
8
   Aeoline
73
        
4
   Viola
61
     Echo (Key Stop in Console)  
               
Orchestral Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Diapason (Violin Diap.)
GT
4
   Flute Harmonic
GT
8
   Concert Flute (Fl. Trav.)
GT
8
   Trumpet
61
8
   Gamba (Vln. Solo)
GT
8
   Orchestral Oboe
61
8
   Quintadena
61
8
   French Horn
61
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
   Subbass *
44
8
   Flute [ext. Subbass]
—
16
   Bourdon (Soft)
32
16
   Trombone
32
16
   Violin Bass
32
    
* "Loud voiced to go with Tutti"
               
Couplers
    Great to Pedal   Swell to Orchestral
    Swell to Pedal   Orchestral to Swell
    Orchestral to Pedal   Swell Super, Sub
    Swell to Great Sub, Unison, Super   Orchestral Super, Sub
    Orchestral to Great    
               
Orchestral Effects
    Balance Swell Pedal   Bass Drum
    Creszendo [sic]   Free Combinations
               
Fixed Combinations
   
Great Organ Pianissimo, Piano, Mezzoforte, Forte, Tutti
Swell Organ Pianissimo, Piano, Mezzoforte, Forte, Tutti
Orchestral Organ Pianissimo, Piano, Mezzoforte, Forte, Tutti
Whole Organ Pianissimo, Piano, Mezzoforte, Forte, Tutti
               
Sources:
     Kinzey, Allen, and Sand Lawn. E.M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner Opus List (New Revised Edition). Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.
     Junchen, David L. Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ, Vol. II. Pasadena: Showcase Publications, 1985.
     "History of the House of Welte," The Music Trade Review (56:12:35).
     Kinzey, Allen and Sand Lawn, comps. E.M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner Opus List (New Rev. Ed). Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.
     Speyer Technik Museum web site: http://speyer.technik-museum.de/en/en/welte-organ
     Stout, Edward Millington III (Hayward, Calif.). Specifications of Ernest M. Skinner organ, Op. 253 (1916) built for Welte & Sons Company. Courtesy Larry Trupiano.
     The Welte Philharmonic Organ, pub. by Welte-Mignon Corporation (c.1927). Specifications of Welte-Mignon Organ (1927). Courtesy Larry Trupiano.

Illustrations:
     Junchen, David L. Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ, Vol. II. Welte-Mignon organ case and console (1927); Welte & Sons organ case (1916).
     Lewis, James. Welte & Sons organ (1916) in Speyer Technik Museum, Speyer, Germany.
     The Music Trade Review (56:12:35). M. Welte & Sons Studio (c.1912). Courtesy James Lewis.
     Wurts Bros. (New York, N.Y.), ca. 1910. Exterior 273 Fifth Avenue. Collection of the Museum of the City of New York.
     Wurts Bros. (New York, N.Y.), 1927. Exterior 695 Fifth Avenue. Collection of the Museum of the City of New York.