Note: Not extant. Not playable. (in this location)
2005-11-24 - Identified from the Reuter Opus List, provided by Chris Leaver, Reuter Organ Co., November, 2005. -Database Manager
2010-11-30 - Updated through online information from Alan Swartz. -- Opus 127 is dated 1924 in the Reuter Opus List. Perhaps this was a contract date, since an inscription was found inside the Great reservoir, dated February, 1926. Main windchests are 73-note EP ventil, using conventional pouches. The instrument was rebuilt in 1985. The specification was altered at that time. Several ranks were revoiced, with nicking removed. Other 8-foot ranks were cut down to provide additional upperwork, such as an Octavin and a Tierce on the Swell. The result was a fresh sounding instrument in line with modern tastes, but not crossing into new-Baroque style. The original pneumatic console was replaced with an electromechanical console from Reuter Opus 1550, originally installed in Amarillo, Texas. A modern rectifier replaced a mechanical DC generator once mounted to the 2 HP Spencer blower, located in a basement room. Vestiges of water plumbing in the floor near the blower suggest that the organ was originally blown by water-powered feeders. The Spencer carries an apparent date code of 1938, which lends credence to the notion. The console resided in a well in the center of the choir loft. The Great was in the left chamber, as were the pedal Bourdon and chimes. The Swell was on the right. The chambers have double arched plaster grilles of unusual attractiveness. Both manual divisions were under expression. The Great chamber was somewhat unusual in that it also served as a hallway between the sanctuary balcony door and a classroom. Pedestrians walked between the pedal rank and chimes on the one hand, and the Great windchest on the other, stepping over wind trunks. Hemphill Street eventually became a satellite campus of First Presbyterian. In 2010, the church plant was sold to a new congregation. With no plans to use the organ, yet wanting to see it preserved, they graciously gave notice of its availability. The organ was removed in June, 2010 and is now undergoing repairs and reassembly as a residence instrument. It will be returned to its 1985 configuration, retaining the 1950s-era console mechanics and the electropneumatic relay. -Database Manager
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