2007-01-28 - Identified through online information from James R. Stettner. -- This was an electrification, rebuild, and enlargement of the church's existing 2/13, 1912, Hillgreen-Lane, Op. 292 which escaped destruction in a fire on February 15, 1949 which destroyed the church edifice. The original H-L chests were retained with new E-P primaries. New E-P unit chests were added by Balcom and Vaughan for the additions, and a new console and electro-mechanical relay were provided. In 1972, Balcom and Vaughan replaced the original E-M relay with a new Peterson solid state relay, but neglected to include the Swell-to-Choir couplers. -Database Manager
Stoplist copied from the console December 13, 1991; verified and updated May/June 1995 Source: Source not recorded Date not recorded
Spokane, Washington
Salem Lutheran Church (ELCA)
HILLGREEN-LANE, CO., Opus 292, 1911
Balcom and Vaughan, Opus 501, 1950 - Rebuild, Electrification, & Enlargement
GREAT (Expressive w/Choir) SWELL (Expressive)
8' Open Diapason 61 16' Bass Flute (Ped/Sw) --
4' Octave (*) 61 8' Open Diapason 61
4' Flute d'Amour 61 8' Stopped Flute 49
2-2/3' Octave Quint (*) 61 8' Salicional (tc) 49
2' Fifteenth (*) 61 8' Voix Celeste (tc) 49
Tremolo 8' Aeoline 61
Chimes (Maas; a22-f42) (21) 4' Rohr Flute 61
4' Flute 12
Great to Great 16' 2-2/3' Nazard 7
Great Unison Off 2' Flautina 5
Great to Great 4' 8' Trumpet (*) 61
8' Vox Humana 61
Tremolo
CHOIR (Expressive w/Great)
16' Dulciana (tc) -- Swell to Swell 16'
8' Melodia 49 Swell Unison Off
8' Dulciana 61 Swell to Swell 4'
4' Flute 12
4' Dulcet 12
2-2/3' Dolce Twelfth 7 PEDAL (Expressive)
2' Dulcetina 5 16' Double Open (prep) --
Tremolo 16' Bourdon (in Gt) 32
16' Gedeckt (in Sw) 30
Choir to Choir 16' 16' String Bass (prep) --
Choir Unison Off 8' Flute (Sw) --
Choir to Choir 4' 16' Posaune (prep) --
COUPLERS FINGER PISTONS
Swell to Pedal 8,4 General 1 – 4
Great to Pedal 8,4 Swell 1 – 4
Choir to Pedal 8,4 Sw. to Ped. Rev. (rev)
Great 1 – 4
Swell to Great 16,8,4 Gt. to Ped. Rev. (rev)
Choir to Great 16,8,4 Choir 1 – 4
Ch. to Ped. Rev. (rev)
Swell to Choir 16,8,4 Sforz. (rev)
Gen. Canc.
PEDAL MOVEMENTS
Swell Expression (bal.) TOE STUDS
Gt/Ch Expression (bal.) Pedal 1 – 4
Crescendo (bal.) Gr. to Pedal (rev)
Sforzando (rev)
ACTION: E-P ventil VOICES: 17 STOPS: 28 RANKS: 17 PIPES: 989
& unit (inc. chimes)
NOTES
The original organ was a 2-manual, 13-rank Hillgreen-Lane operated by tubular-pneumatic
action. It was installed in the previous edifice in the spring of 1912, and was a gift
of the Young People's Society. The cost was over $1,000.00. The organ was located on
the front, right side of the sanctuary in a shallow recess. The case front was of
quarter-sawn oak, and the façade had 23 gold-painted pipes which included notes 3-17 of
the Great 8' Open Diapason. The keydesk was attached and projecting.
The building was lost to fire on February 15, 1949 when a workman's torch ignited dust
between the old wooden frame church and its newer brick veneer. This was during the
construction of the Youth Center. The altar painting and the organ survived. Balcom and
Vaughan of Seattle was contracted to remove the organ from the burnt building, and re-
build it for the new edifice.
The original chests were retained and some new chests were added. A new 3-manual console
was provided, and four new ranks of pipes were added. These are indicated by an asterisk
(*) in the stoplist. The rebuilt organ was reinstalled in the new [and present] sanctuary
early in 1950. The Dedication Service of the Church was held April 30, 1950 at 4:00 p.m.
The Dedication Service of Memorials including the organ was held May 21, 1950 at 4:00 p.m.
On the Great, the original 8' Open Diapason stayed on its original toeboard. The former
facade pipes were placed on a new offset chest. The new 4' Octave was placed on the orig-
inal 8' Dulciana toeboard. The new 2-2/3' Octave Quint was placed on the original 8' Mel-
odia toeboard. The original 4' Flute d'Amour stayed on its original toeboard. The Melodia,
Dulciana, and new 2' Fifteenth were placed on a new Balcom and Vaughan, Kilgen-style E-P
unit chest. The Melodia and Dulciana had additional pipes added to make them playable at
multiple pitches, and they became the Choir division. One less than desirable compromise
was made with the Melodia. On the original 1912 organ it had its own stopped bass. On the
rebuild, the 8' octave of the Melodia was omitted, and those notes are borrowed from the
tenor octave of the Pedal 16' Bourdon.
On the Swell, the original 8' Stopped Diapason was removed from its original chest and
was placed on a new Balcom and Vaughan, Kilgen-style E-P unit chest, and with extension
pipes added was made to play at five pitches. Unfortunately, the same compromise was made
in the Swell. The bottom octave of the 8' Stopped Flute was omitted, and those notes are
borrowed from the tenor octave of the Pedal 16' Gedeckt. The newly added 8' Trumpet took
the place of the Stopped Diapason on the original chest.
On the Pedal, the original 16' Bourdon was placed in the Great/Choir chamber on new unit
chests with two pipes added to the top to increase the compass from 30 to 32 notes. The
16' Gedeckt was placed in the Swell chamber on a new chest. Unusually, while the new chest
for the Gedeckt is a 32-note chest, the top two extension pipes appear to never have been
added. Even more unusual is that despite the Pedal 16' Gedeckt having 30 pipes of its own,
only the first 24 are being used, and the top 8 notes are borrowed from the Swell 8' Stop-
ped Flute unit. This shortcoming may have happened in 1975 when Balcom and Vaughan installed
a new Peterson solid state relay. Both the 16' Bourdon and the 16' Gedeckt are not able to
realize their fullest sound potential since their tenor octaves are borrowed as the bass of
the two manual 8' flutes.
In the 1975 solid state conversion, Balcom and Vaughan over-looked the three Swell to Choir
couplers. They were added as an after-thought, but were never made to work.
Sources: Hillgreen-Lane opus list; Balcom and Vaughan opus list and files; Eugene
M. Nye complation; church histories; JRS; extant organ.
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