Note: Not extant. Not playable. (in this location)
2007-03-16 - Identified through online information from James R. Stettner. -- The builder of this organ has long been a mystery. And perhaps the answer to its origins lies in the Diocesan archives in Portland or in a Möller folder somewhere. Eugene M. Nye claimed it was a Hutchings, but it does not appear on the Hutchings opus list. It also does not appear on the Hook opus list, nor Ryder, nor several other New England builders. It may have been a Hutchings taken in trade by another builder, and then refurbished and sent to Portland. The Catholic Sentinel for February 11, 1886 on page 5, Column 2 reads: "CATHEDRAL ORGAN. The new pipe organ for the Cathedral arrived last Saturday. The same was packed up in thirty-eight boxes, of an aggregate weight of 18,000 pounds. The entire organ cost $5,000, and was bought from a firm in Boston. Mr. Schoenstein, of San Francisco will soon arrive in this city to superintend the fitting up of the organ. It is expected that the opening of the organ will begin with a grand sacred concert, to be held some time before Easter. Connoisseurs say that the new organ is the finest north of San Francisco. The dimensions are sixteen feet wide, twelve feet deep and eighteen feet high. With the good choir of the Cathedral, under the direction of Prof. Masten, we may expect a volume of instrumental and vocal music such as never has been heard within the precincts of Portland." -Database Manager
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