Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Hamilton Village


Aeolian-Skinner organ, Op. 963 (1937) in St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Hamilton Village (Philadelphia, PA)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Builder:        Aeolian-Skinner Organ Co., Inc.
   Year:        1937
   Opus:        963
 
No. manuals:    2
No. stops:      25
No. ranks:      25
No. pipes:      1,558
      

Specification

             GREAT ORGAN                            SWELL ORGAN
         16' Flute Conique       61              8' Geigen Principal    73
          8' Principal Diapason  61              8' Stopped Diapason    73
          8' Bourdon             61              8' Viole de Gambe      73
          8' Gemshorn            61              8' Viole Celeste (TC)  61
          8' Dulciana            61              8' Viole Aetheria      73
          4' Octave Diapason     61              4' Octave Geigen       73
          4' Gemshorn            61              4' Flute Triangulaire  73
         II  Grave Mixture      122             IV  Mixture            244
                                                 8' Trompette           73
             PEDAL ORGAN                         8' Oboe                73
         16' Open Diapason       32                 Tremolo
         16' Bourdon             32
         16' Lieblich Gedeckt    12 SW
         16' Flute Conique       GT
          8' Principal           12
          8' Flute Ouverte       32
          8' Gedeckt             SW


Source: Allen Kinzey

Notes: Hamilton Village was established in 1804 by William Hamilton, a prominent landowner, on the west bank of the Schuylkill River. In 1808 he designated land for two churches, one of which was St. Mary's. The first building was built in 1824. The church grew quickly, and the present Gothic Revival structure of fieldstone was first used in 1873. The neighborhood began to change in the 1920s and 1930s, hastened on by a disastrous fire in 1936. In 1937 St. Mary's merged with St. Philip's Church. Fortunately for the parish, the University of Pennsylvania was expanding westward - and soon the church found itself on campus and became the university church for Episcopalians.

The first organ in the present building was a 2-manual 23-stop J. H. and C. S. Odell, Op. 125. It served until it was replaced by 3-manual Austin Op. 909 in 1909. The present organ followed the Austin, which was destroyed in the 1936 fire. The Aeolian-Skinner was overhauled by Fabry & Co. in 1971 and was fitted with a new Reuter console. In 1986, Bruce Schultz provided new casework and made some tonal changes.

Organ Historical Society Database: https://pipeorgandatabase.org/OrganDetails.php?OrganID=25556