ca. 1881 - Organ case (Photograph from an archival source: Hook Organs, published by OHS Press, submitted by Jim Stettner/Jim Stettner)
2005-03-01 - Identified from company publications as edited and expanded in <i>The Hook Opus List 1829-1935</i>, ed. William T. Van Pelt (Organ Historical Society, 1991). -Database Manager
2012-05-31 - Updated through online information from T. Daniel Hancock. -- Information from Jeff Scofield indicates this organ was modified by Casavant in 1903 and designated as Casavant Opus 184. -Database Manager
2021-02-14 - This was the second largest instrument built by the firm in the 19th century after the Cincinnati Music Hall instrument. It's replacement in 1957 with a puny 21-rank Kilgen is one of the greatest losses of 19th-century organbuilding in the U.S. The combination action was "blind", i.e. not moving the stop knobs, but disengaging the drawn registration. The hand registers could be changed at will without effecting the combination pedal engaged, and once the combination pedal was released, the hand registers would re-engage. The crescendo and decrescendo foot levers would advance or reverse through the programmed stages with each pressing of the pedal. A similar system on a smaller instrument at Brick Church in Rochester, New York had 20 stages. -Scot Huntington
2021-02-15 - When electrified by Casavant in 1903, the case and all pipework was retained, essentially unaltered, but the slider chests and wind system were replaced with new Casavant ventil chests and a multitude of individual reservoirs. In addition, several stops were added to the Solo, and an elegant new drawknob console with terraced jambs was also provided. The organ as built in 1881 would have been at high pitch, A450. It is not known if the organ was re-pitched to A435 in 1903, but it would have been unusual for an old high-pitch organ not to be so treated at that time, (Immaculate Conception in Boston was re-pitched when it was electrified the previous year). The process of re-pitching a high-pitch organ lower, involves providing a new low-C pipe, and moving all pipes up a half step and shortening them-- essentially re-scaling the organ one note larger and raising the cut-ups even though the voicing might be physically left alone. This would make the organ somewhat darker and slightly less brilliant, and the reeds which are fussier to re-pitch, would loose some of their original fire. The original monumental case and facade pipes are still extant, having been recycled through subsequent reuse by Kilgen (1957) and most recently by Peragallo (2010). -Scot Huntington
Regrettably, it is not possible to display the information about the sponsor of this pipeorgandatabase entry or if there is a sponsor. Please see About Sponsors on Pipe Organ Database.