Better Pipe Organ Database

J. H. & C. S. Odell & Co. Opus 228 (1886)

St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Cathedral
55 W. San Fernando Street
San Jose, CA

Images

2014 - Organ in rear gallery (Photograph by Stephen K Boniface/Stephen K Boniface)

Unknown - Church Exterior (Vintage Postcard, courtesy of T. Bradford Willis, DDS (1950s)/Database Manager)

Unknown - Church interior and organ gallery, 2012. (Photograph by Jeffery Abbott/Database Manager)

2025-01-20 - Panorama of church interior (Benjamin Smith/Benjamin Smith)

2025-01-20 - Organ in rear gallery (Benjamin Smith/Benjamin Smith)

2025-01-20 - Facade (Benjamin Smith/Benjamin Smith)

2025-01-20 - Right stopjamb (Benjamin Smith/Benjamin Smith)

2025-01-20 - Pedals (Benjamin Smith/Benjamin Smith)

2025-01-20 - Manuals (Benjamin Smith/Benjamin Smith)

Consoles

Main

Organ type: Traditional With a Keyboard Cover That Can Be Lifted To Form a Music Rack
Console position: Keydesk Attached
2 manuals
27 stops
Key action Type: Mechanical (Details Unknown)
Stop action Type: Mechanical
Stop layout Type: Drawknobs in Horizontal Rows on Terraced/Stepped Jambs
Pedal compass: 27 notes
Pedal Type: Flat Straight
Expression Type: Balanced Expression Shoes/Pedals (Not Meeting AGO Standards)
Combination action: Fixed Mechanical

Notes

2004-10-30 - Status Note: There 1992. -Database Manager

2004-10-30 - Restored Edward Stout 1988. Rededicated 22 Nov 1992. Ed Stout and Dick Taylor & Co. did the restoration. One of the first organs to be shipped to California by rail. Composition Pedals: Swell p, Swell f, Great p, Great mf, Great f. Reversibles: Great to Pedal, Swell to Pedal -Database Manager

2014-08-28 - Updated through online information from Joseph Adam. -Database Manager

2015-09-01 - Updated through online information from Denis D'Aoust. -Database Manager

2025-01-21 - Instrument is in excellent condition and the reverb is appreciable, but it is not used frequently enough. The new vicar is one of the few to play it; piano or guitar is largely used instead. The instrument is reported to be one of four Odells in this style, and the only one in original condition on the West Coast. -Benjamin Smith

Stoplist

Typed stoplist from the OHS PC Database. Source: Source not recorded Date not recorded

St. Joseph's R. C. Cathedral, San Jose, CA
1886 Odell

Swell            Great                Pedal
-----            -----                -----
Oboe             Trumpet              Open Diapason 16'
Coronet III      Mixture III          Bourdon 16'
Flautina 2'      Principal 2'         Violincello 8'
Violona 4'       Twelfth
Stopped Flute    Wald Flute 4'
Celeste          Octave 4'
Salicional       Melodia
Open Diapason    Dulce
Bourdon 16'      Gamba
Great to Pedal   Open Diapason
Swell to Pedal   Double Diapason 16'
Swell to Great   Bellows

Composition Pedal: Swell p, Swell f, Great p, Great mf, Great f
Reversibles: Great to Pedal, Swell to Pedal

Specification from OHS PC Database and cathedral web site Source: Source not recorded Date not recorded

San Jose, California
St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Cathedral

J.H. & C.S. Odell & Co.   Opus 228   1886
2 manuals, 22 stops, 26 ranks
_________________________________________

           GREAT ORGAN
       16' Double Diapason     58
        8' Open Diapason       58
        8' Gamba               58
        8' Dulce               58
        8' Melodia             58
        4' Octave              58
        4' Wald Flute          58
    2 2/3' Twelfth             58
        2' Principal           58
           Mixture III        174
        8' Trumpet             58

           SWELL ORGAN
       16' Bourdon             58
        8' Open Diapason       58
        8' Salicional          58
        8' Celeste             58
        8' Stopped Flute       58
        4' Violina             58
        2' Flautina            58
           Cornet III         174
        8' Oboe                58
           Tremulant

           PEDAL ORGAN
       16' Open Diapason       27
        8' Violoncello         27

           PEDAL MOVEMENTS
           Swell Organ P
           Swell Organ F
           Great Organ P
           Great Organ MF
           Great Organ F
           Balanced Swell Pedal

           ACCESSORIES
           Swell to Pedal Reversible
           Great to Pedal Reversible
           Bellows Signal


[Received from Steven E. Lawson  2015-11-10]

Stops in console order Source: Taken from console on 01/20/2025

Swell (Fully mechanical) Cornet III, Stopped Diapason 8, Flautino 2, Violina 4, Vox Celeste 8, Salicional 8, Open Diapason 8, Tremolo, Bourdon 8

Great (Fully mechanical) Trumpet 8, Mixture III, Fifteenth 2, Wald Flute 4, Twelfth 2 2/3, Octave 4, Melodia 8, Dulce d'Amour 8, Gamba 8, Open Diapason 8, Double Open Diapason 16

Pedal (Fully mechanical) Open Diapason 16, Bourdon 16, Violoncello 8

Swell to Pedal 8, Great to Pedal 8, Swell to Great 8