Pittsburgh, PA
University of Pittsburgh, Heinz Memorial Chapel

Builder:		Aeolian-Skinner Organ Co., Inc.
  Year:			1938
  Opus:			922

No. manuals:		4
No. stops:		78
No. ranks:		51
No. pipes:		3,696

Great (enclosed)

	16' 	Double Diapason 	73
	8' 	First Diapason 		73
	8' 	Second Diapason 	73
	8' 	Major Flute 		73
	8' 	Melodia 		CH
	8' 	Gemshorn 		CH
	8' 	Dulciana 		CH
	4' 	Octave 			73
	4' 	Harmonic Flute 		73
	II	Grave Mixture 		122
	8' 	Tuba 			SO
		Tremolo
		Harp 			CH
		Celesta 		CH
		Chimes 			EC

Swell

	16' 	Contra Salicional 	73
	16' 	Bourdon 		73
	8' 	Geigen Principal 	73
	8' 	Clarabella 		73
	8' 	Gedeckt 		73
	8' 	Viol d'Orchestre 	73
	8' 	Viol Celeste 		73
	8' 	Salicional 		12
	8' 	Voix Celeste 		73
	8' 	Flute Celeste II 	146
	4' 	Octave Geigen 		73
	4' 	Flute d'Amour 		12
	4' 	Violina 		73
	4' 	Salicet 		12
	2 2/3' 	Nazard	 		7
	2' 	Piccolo	 		5
	2' 	Flautino 		61
	III	Mixture 		183
	16' 	Waldhorn 		73
	8' 	Trumpet 		73
	8' 	Oboe 			73
	8' 	Vox Humana 		73 	separate tremolo
	4' 	Clarion 		73
		Tremolo

Choir

	16' 	Dulciana 		73
	8' 	Viola 			73
	8' 	Melodia 		73
	8' 	Gemshorn 		73
	8' 	Dulciana 		12
	8' 	Unda Maris 		73
	4' 	Traverso Flute 		12
	4' 	Dulcet 			12
	2 2/3' 	Dolce Twlefth 		7
	2' 	Dolce Fifteenth	 	5
	2' 	Piccolo 		61
	8' 	Orchestral Oboe 	73
	8' 	Clarinet 		73
		Tremolo
		Harp	 
		Celesta

Solo

	8' 	Flauto Mirabilis 	73
	8' 	Gamba 			73
	8' 	Gamba Celeste 		73
	8' 	Tuba Mirabilis 		73
	8' 	French Horn 		73
	8' 	English Horn 		73
	4' 	Tuba Clarion 		12
		Tremolo
		Harp 			CH
		Celesta 		CH

Echo

	16' 	Echo Bourdon 		73
	8' 	Flute 			73
	8' 	Muted Viole 		73
	8' 	Muted Viole Celeste 	73
	4' 	Flute 			73
	8' 	Vox Humana 		73
		Tremolo
		Chimes

Pedal

	32' 	Diapason Resultant 	--
	16' 	Diapason 		32
	16' 	Metal Diapason 		GT
	16' 	Bourdon 		32
	16' 	Violone 		32
	16' 	Contra Salicional 	SW
	16' 	Dulciana 		CH
	16' 	Echo Bourdon 		EC
	8' 	Octave 			12
	8' 	Gedeckt 		12
	8' 	Cello 			12
	8' 	Echo Flute 		EC
	8' 	Still Gedeckt 		SW
	4' 	Super Octave 		12
	16' 	Tuba 			12	SO
	16' 	Waldhorn 		SW
	8' 	Tuba 			SO
	4' 	Tuba Clarion 		SO
		Chimes 			EC

The contract was signed in 1934, but the organ was not installed until completion of the chapel in 1938 due to building construction delays.
 
The chapel is a famous Pittsburgh landmark.  It is 146 feet long, and a whopping and seemingly disproportionate 93 feet high at the crossing in the center of the building.  However, it makes for a unique, beautiful and successful design with some magnificent stained glass windows.
 
The August 1944 issue of THE DIAPASON carried the following write-up, as well as the above stop list:
 
"In the rarely beautiful (sic) Heinz Memorial Chapel of the University of Pittsburgh, a building of national fame, there is a four-manual organ that is in keeping with the edifice and that stands out in a city which can boast many great organs.  The instrument was built by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company.  The stop scheme was never published in THE DIAPASON, largely because of the long wait after the awarding of the contract and the completion of the instrument in the Boston factory, made necessary by the length of time taken to complete the chapel.  Work on the organ began in the summer of 1934, but it was several years before it could be installed."
 
"The instrument is one of great effectiveness because of the excellent acoustics of the building.  It was necessary, however, to string the pipes around the triforium of the choir, as the organ space originally provided by the architect was entirely inadequate.  Even under the arrangement finally followed, the Aeolian-Skinner Company was obliged to adopt considerable duplexing and unifying to stay within the room available."
 
"In response to requests from several readers, the stop scheme of the organ (was) herewith presented."
 
It is not hard at all to tell whether Skinner or Harrison designed this organ.  By the company's 1934 standards, the stop list is quite retro.  The shortage of room available for the organ was definitely not helped by the preponderance of broad-scaled 8' stops.
 
It was no surprise that the installation was never successful - nor was the 1969 rebuild and renovation by Moller as a III/70.  The Echo division was removed in the early 1970s.

To prepare for installation of the Moller, Op. 922 was sold to The Allegheny Center Christian & Missionary Alliance Church in Pittsburgh.  It was sent to the Moller factory, where it was rebuilt and a new console added.  The Chimes and 31 ranks were retained and it was installed in its new location in 1971.

Reuter completed a basically new organ in 1995 that is very successful.  Among its features are a Tuba on 25" wind located, under expression, in the former Echo chamber nearly 90' above the floor.  The chancel 3-manual console is unusually tall and features elaborate and intricate carving in the cabinet that is reminiscent of Casavant's earlier work, as well as the Skinner console cabinet in use at St. Thomas Church, New York.