St. Nicholas Croatian Roman Catholic Church (1922): Sanctuary; Rear Gallery
25 Maryland Avenue
Pittsburgh: Millvale, PA
Note: Not extant. Not playable. (in this location)
Images
2021 - Historical Landmark plaques (Photograph by Progressive Pittsburgh History, submitted by Andrew Scanlon/Andrew Scanlon)
2010 - Interior (Photograph by Pawsburgh, submitted by Andrew Scanlon/Andrew Scanlon)
2010 - Exterior side/apse view (Photograph by Historical Marker Association, submitted by Andrew Scanlon/Andrew Scanlon)
2022 - Interior showing many of the famous murals by Maxo Vanka (Photograph by Pawsburgh, submitted by Andrew Scanlon/Andrew Scanlon)
1920s - Exterior (Photograph from an archival source: Maxo Vanka Mural Society, submitted by Andrew Scanlon/Andrew Scanlon)
2020 - Exterior front (Photograph by Pittsburgh History and Landmarks, submitted by Andrew Scanlon/Andrew Scanlon)
Notes
2022-08-23 - from Millvale organist Terry Scheibe: The organ at St. Nicholas was a Tellers, circa 1925. It had 8 ranks in the Swell, and 5 on the Great plus a pedal rank. I removed the organ in 2002 hoping to rebuild it in my home. I eventually returned the organ to the convent at St. Nicholas, and the church subsequently disposed of it. I still have the case in storage at my home. -Andrew Scanlon
2022-08-23 - I saw this organ a couple of times in the late 1990s. It took up the vast majority of the choir loft. At that time it was unplayable. It had a wooden case with flat front and gold facade pipes. The console was detached and reversed, so the organist was facing the nave when playing. Local organist Stephen Lipnichan says it was Tubular Pneumatic action but this cannot be independently confirmed. The church is now part of a "Shrines of Pittsburgh" entity and much attention is focused on preserving the church and the Maxo Vanka murals which adorn the entire interior. -Andrew Scanlon
2022-08-25 - Console looked very much like the one in Fort Morgan, CO, except this one had drawknobs on each side of the console. According to correspondence with local organist JR Daniels the console was attached and reversed and it was indeed Tubular pneumatic as typical of [early] 1920s Tellers installations. -Andrew Scanlon
2025-06-06 - From the St Nicholas history web page: "On March 26 1921, at two o'clock in the morning, fire destroyed the church in Millvale. The <unspecified> organ, which had been donated by the late Andrew Carnegie ($2,000), was burned to ashes." A new structure was dedicated in 1922, which housed the Tellers instrument. In 2022, the church purchased an organ from a private residence in Webster, NY. This is composed of parts of Tellers opus 675 (originally of Our Lady of Mount Carmel church, Rochester NY) and Tellers opus 927 (originally of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse, Hamburg, NY). The private residence organ and both Tellers instruments have their own entries in the POD. -Mark A. Smith
2025-06-08 - Updated through online information from Mark A. Smith (June 8, 2025): My Tellers expert informs me that the St Nicholas instrument is Tellers Opus 220, a 2-manual 15 rank newly built instrument. (This is one rank different than Millvale organist Terry Scheibe describes in the NOTE of August 22nd, 2022.). -Jim Stettner
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