Our Own Pipe Organ
Presently Dismantled & Pipes in Racks
Possibly For Sale
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The keys are ivory. The console is primarily oak with cherry.

The bench is individually famous. It was the bench used by renowned organist Walter Blodgett, Oberlin/Julliard trained who was curator of music at the Cleveland Museum of Art for 31 years. It is made of solid walnut.

The organ has eight ranks. Four on the Swell (Sesqui Altera stop is two ranks), three on the Great and two in the Pedal but only 12 stopped sub-bass woods are unique to the Pedal. Others are borrowed from the Great Melodia. The other Pedal stop is Octave, entirely borrowed from the Great Open Diapaison.

Every wired connection from console to coupler board and chests goes through a series of ten gold plated connectors each with 60 pins. This allows the console to simply be unplugged from the organ. It took countless hours to assemble and solder these connectors expecting that it would have to be moved again!

View of most pipes.

The organ was installed here in 1979 and has never been dusted!

Great and Swell Chests

The show pipes are 8ft diapaisons. All but six slim ones are functional. Behind them is a row of larger flutes.

Presets

I installed these. There are five foot studs and five manual pistons. I also installed solenoid coils on the stop tab assemblies which, luckily, were designed for them but not supplied. So, the tabs do move to show each preset registration when it changes.

Behind the yellow text is a panel that folds down and reveals the five sets of switches which are the presets. Each switch is in the same relative position as the stop tabs to correspond.

The Full organ stub is to the right of the pedals.

Preset Panel

A 16PST (16pole Single throw) relay operates when any piston or stub is pressed to change the preset and since it is often pressed very quickly, a capacitor holds it long enough to guarantee accurate operation of the stop solenoids.

Coupler Board

Silver wire coupler bars. All 100% functional.

Rebuilding

1979 when all pipe bellows were completely rebuilt. Most old failed leather was removed and replaced with rubberized bellows cloth. Other leather still in good condition was treated so there remains some old leather. You can see repaired results ready to be installed--all were glued with paper spacers!

Organ Facts For General Audiences Not Necessarily Organ Specialists The organ was installed in 1913 by Votteler-Holtkamp-Sparling (the original "Holtkamp Organ Company") as a tubular-pneumatic organ. I think its first location was First Reformation Church in Easton PA for two reasons: First, the Holtkamp Opus history shows an organ installed there that matches this organ (2 manuals, 7 ranks, OPUS 1221 -- the 7 ranks would have been the three Great and four Swell ranks ignoring the 12 sub-bass extras). Second, the casework has the signature of an installer with a date of November 1913. Long lengths of lead tubing ran from the air chests holding the pipes to the console. There were more than 130 of these lead tubes. When a key was pressed, the end of the tube under the key was opened to the air and this collapsed tiny bellows under the pipes which allowed air to flow into them. As cumbersome as it sounds, it happened very rapidly and accurately. In 1942 the organ was converted to electro-pneumatic by Holtkamp and installed in western Cleveland at the church of St. Vincent de Paul. We know this because that 1942 installation was Holtkamp's Opus 1617 and the man from whom I bought the organ told me he had acquired it from St. Vincent de Paul Church. When its time there ended, it was dismantled and crated by Holtkamp and it was supposed to be installed in a church in Lorain, Ohio but for some reason that did not happen and it remained in its "deliverable" condition when acquired by the owner who had it before me. He was transfered to the west coast and never got around to uncrating it and rebuilding it. That task came to me when I bought it (1974). As for the 1942 changes, instead of the lead tubes, a tiny electromagnet is activated when a key is pressed and it evacuates the small bellows that let air into the pipes in the same way as the lead tubes would have done. Many of the original 1913 pipes remained in 1942 but a former rank (type unknown) was obviously replaced with a two rank Sesqui Altera and the open flute Melodia is from 1942 manufacture also, I believe. The organ retains its original blower motor, a mighty cast iron repulsion-start behemoth which drives blower blades made entirely out of wood. To reduce the motor sound, the motor and blower are placed inside a cabinet which is completely encased in solid lead sheeting and there is also a shroud of 4 inch thick soundproofing-filled panels. Specification: GREAT 8ft Open Diapaison (metal) 8ft Melodia (open flute) 8ft Dulciana (metal but I have moved this to make it a Dulce Quint) SW to GT 16ft SW to GT SW to GT 4ft SWELL 4ft Principal (metal) 4ft Gedackt (wood) 8ft Salicional (metal) Sesqui Altera (12th and 17th) PEDAL 16ft SUB BASS (stopped wood) 8ft OCTAVE (entirely borrowed from Great) SW to PED GT to PED GT to PED 4ft There is no swell box but the leather actuating device remains. The crescendo pedal works but is hardly needed with so few ranks and the addition of the presets. Small deteriorated leather bellows for each pipe in the Swell and Great chests were completely replaced with rubberized bellows cloth in 1979. Surprisingly, this work was done exclusively with heated horsehide glue which has proved to be extremely durable. Pressure is about 6psi. There is an mp3 file of an improvisation of Satin Doll played on this organ. To listen or download.... CLICK HERE To contact us CLICK on the picture below