Lost Pipe Organs of America

With Rollin Smith’s Lost Pipe Organs of America, the Organ Historical Society celebrates the Golden Age of pipe organbuilding and beyond. Every facet of American life, not only in worship, but in concert halls, auditoriums, universities, hotels, world's fairs, and expositions, featured a notable instrument, now lost to history.

What is astonishing is the short life so many notable organs had: the great 1863 organ in the Boston Music Hall was auctioned off after 21 years; the 1962 Aeolian-Skinner in New York City’s Philharmonic Hall was removed after 14 years; Washington Auditorium tried to dispose of its 88-rank Möller in less than 11 years; Chicago’s Steinway Hall was closed and remodeled after only five years; Westchester County Center’s 59-rank Aeolian ceased to be used regularly within 2 years. When organs were not rebuilt, moved, sold, or given away, they were put in storage—Springfield’s Steere for 45 years so far—where they remained until they were dispersed. Miscellaneous pipes often ended up in unexpected places: two ranks from the Waldorf-Astoria Möller found their way into the French Classic gallery organ at St. Thomas’ Church in New York City.

Lost Pipe Organs of America range from that of the Boston National Peace Jubilee of 1869; New York’s Chickering, Mendelssohn, and Carnegie Halls; Hotel Astor and Waldorf-Astoria; the E. & G.G. Hook at Louisville’s Southern Exposition of 1883; Chicago’s Steinway Hall and Stadium; auditoriums in Denver, Washington, Detroit, and Chicago; the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition’s Festival Hall, and Lincoln Center’s Philharmonic Hall. A galaxy of America’s organbuilders include Hook, Jardine, Roosevelt, Skinner, Farrand & Votey, Aeolian, Möller, Austin, Estey, Barton, Wurlitzer, and Aeolian-Skinner. Hundreds of illustrations are what you have come to expect, and footnotes are, as usual, not to be missed.