Congregation Beth Israel
Holman St.
Houston, TX
Images
2020-07-23 - The organ's new location from 1967 (Photograph by Congregation website, submitted by Jeff Scofield/Jeff Scofield)
ca.1925 - Building exterior (Photograph from an archival source: A Curious Histonian, submitted by Jeff Scofield/Jeff Scofield)
2020-09-17 - Right stop jamb (Photograph by Collin Boothby, submitted by Paul R. Marchesano/Paul R. Marchesano)
2020-09-17 - Left stop jamb (Photograph by Collin Boothby, submitted by Paul R. Marchesano/Paul R. Marchesano)
2020-09-17 - View of manuals (Photograph by Collin Boothby, submitted by Paul R. Marchesano/Paul R. Marchesano)
2020-09-17 - Console (Photograph by Collin Boothby, submitted by Paul R. Marchesano/Paul R. Marchesano)
1983 - Console & pipework (Rex Solomon/Rex Solomon)
1983 - Portion of right stopjamb (Rex Solomon/rex solomon)
1983 - Pipe work & console. This is as it was when removed from the Holman St Location where the pipe were in the rear of the sanctuary. In the New building they are behind a screen in the Chior loft, so not much was done to change the fittings and wood work (Rex Solomon/Rex Solomon)
1983 - Pipework (Rex Solomon/Rex Solomon)
1983 - Pipework (Rex Solomon/Rex Solomon)
1983 - Console (Rex Solomon/Rex Solomon)
Consoles
Main
- Organ type: Traditional With Roll Top
- Console position: Console in Fixed Position, Center
- 3 manuals
- 40 stops
- 46 registers
- 4 divisions
- Key action Type: Electrical
- Stop action Type: Electrical
- Stop layout Type: Drawknobs in Vertical Rows on Flat Jambs
- Manual compass: 61 notes
- Pedal compass: 32 notes
- Pedal Type: Concave Radiating (Not Meeting AGO Standards)
- Expression Type: Balanced Expression Shoes/Pedals (Meeting AGO Standards)
- Has crescendo
- Combination action: Remote Pneumatic/Mechanical Capture
- Has combination thumb pistons
- Has combination toe pistons
- Has coupler thumb pistons
- Has coupler toe pistons
- Has tutti thumb pistons
- Has tutti toe pistons
Notes
2005-04-07 - Identified through information in Vol VI p. 195 of the Pilcher factory ledgers and a list of Pilcher organs typed by William E. Pilcher of Louisville. For more information see the document referenced below. -Database Manager
2005-04-07 - Original price: $18,000. Photo Archives 4133. -Database Manager
2008-05-11 - Updated through online information from Shawn Sanders. -- Organ was moved from original location in 1950s. Organ is still functioning with original relays. Echo Division was placed in Choir Division Chamber at present location. -Database Manager
2022-12-27 - From Wikipedia: Congregation Beth Israel is the oldest Jewish congregation in Texas. Early Jewish families that settled in the area formed the Hebrew Benevolent Society in 1844, under the leadership of Lewis Levy. By 1854, seventeen adults organized themselves into the Hebrew Congregation Beth Israel, and the congregation received a state charter in 1859. Members first met in a small room on Austin Street between Texas and Prairie, but later moved to a frame building on Labranch Street. The congregation’s first permanent synagogue was dedicated on Crawford Street in 1874. A larger synagogue followed in 1908, but waves of immigration, the oil boom and the deepening of the ship channel brought explosive growth to the congregation, and the need for another, larger building became urgent. The new synagogue, located at the corner of Holman and Austin Streets, was designed by congregation member and noted architect Joseph Finger. When the temple was dedicated in 1925, the Houston Chronicle called it “the finest house of worship of its kind in the entire south.” The temple’s architecture combines traditional classical and near eastern elements, such as large columns and entablatures, in a stylized art moderne style. The brick and limestone building’s square plan and high facades enhance its monumental scale. In 1969, the congregation moved to a new site in southwest Houston and transferred the property to the Houston Independent School District. The facility served as the first home of Houston’s High School for the Visual and Performing Arts before it was passed to Houston Community College in the early 1980s. -Jeff Scofield
Stoplist
Typed stoplist Source: from Houston Chapter AGO website Date not recorded
Houston, Texas
Congregation Beth Israel
Henry Pilcher's Sons 1926 3 manuals, 46 registers, 40 stops, 42 ranks
______________________________________________________________________________
GREAT ORGAN SWELL ORGAN
16' Open Diapason 73 16' Bourdon 73
8' First Open Diapason 73 8' Open Diapason 73
8' Second Open Diapason 73 8' Stopped Diapason 73
8' Gross Flute 73 8' Salicional 73
8' Viola d'Gamba 73 8' Vox Celeste (TC) 61
8' Gemshorn 73 8' Aeoline 73
4' Octave 73 8' Quintadena 73
4' Hohlflute 73 4' Flute Harmonic 73
2 2/3' Twelfth 61 2' Flautina 61
2' Fifteenth 61 Cornet III 183
8' Tuba 73 8' Cornopean 73
Tremolo 8' Oboe 73
8' Vox Humana 73
CHOIR ORGAN Tremolo
8' English Diapason 73
8' Melodia 73 PEDAL ORGAN
8' Flute Celeste (TC) 61 32' Resultant --
8' Dulciana 73 16' Open Diapason 32
4' Flute d'Amore 73 16' Second Open Diap. (Gt) --
2' Piccolo 61 16' Bourdon 32
8' Clarinet 73 16' Lieblich Gedeckt (Sw) --
8' French Horn 73 16' Contra Gamba 44
Tremolo 8' Dolce Flute (Sw) --
8' Violoncello (fr. CGam) --
ECHO ORGAN 16' Tuba (ext Gt) 12
8' Fern Flute 61
8' Vox Seraphique 61
8' Vox Angelica 61
8' Viol Aetheria 61
8' Vox Humana 61
Tremolo
[Received from Steven E. Lawson 2017-11-25]
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