Praise God with trumpet sound; praise God with lute and harp!
Praise God with tambourine and dance; praise God with strings and pipe!
Psalm 150:3-4
For information on our Organist/Choir Director position, click here.
The Johnson & Son Tracker Organ
(Opus 690, 1888)
The organ at Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church is a 2-manual, 26-rank
Johnson & Son tracker organ, Opus 690, which was built in the Johnson
factory in Westfield, Massachusetts at a cost of $3,000. It was delivered
to the present building in 1888 which was at that time the Fullerton Avenue
Presbyterian Church. The building had just been completed and was dedicated
with its new organ on April 22, 1888.
The sanctuary at that time was somewhat smaller than at present and the
organ was situated in a case in the northwest corner. In 1898, it was decided
to enlarge the sanctuary to its present size. To do this, the west wall
was moved westward 25 feet and the organ was moved to its current position,
still in the northwest corner. The organ chamber was also modified to include
a flat of dummy pipes facing the pews in order to allow more sound to reach
the sanctuary.
The Johnson firm is credited with being one of the first organ builders
to use a water motor to provide the organ's wind supply. This type of hydraulic
motor depended on a reliable water supply of sufficient pressure to operate
a water wheel which was connected to the bellows through a series of shafts,
wheels and gears. The Lincoln Park organ was built with such a water motor.
There was a recital in the church on June 15, 1888, and the church records
note: "if all Lakeview will insist on sprinkling their flower beds
just as Mr. W. sits down to the organ, he cannot be expected to get much
volume of sound. A water motor may be a very good idea, but it's not as
reliable as the old-fashioned pumping machine, i.e., a man." The organ's
water motor no longer exists; the instrument is now powered by an electric
turbine blower. Other records from June 1896 state: "paid boy for pumping
organ on two Sundays, $1.00." The bellows handle for this "old-fashioned
pumping machine" was inside the door of the organ chamber below the
flat of dummy pipes.
The organ was well cared for through the years. The church records of August
1902 note that a yearly organ maintenance contract was obtained for $75.
It is also known that repairs were made in 1906 and 1924. Despite other
repairs throughout the years, the organ is virtually unchanged since its
installation. In 1976, the Roderer Organ Company undertook a thorough cleaning
and various repairs. It was at that time that the original wind system was
removed.
In 1981, it was determined that a major renovation would have to be undertaken
if the organ was to be preserved for the years ahead. The Bradford Organ
Company was selected to undertake this project. The first phase of this
renovation was begun in that same year when the pedal trackers were replaced
and the pedal couplers were restored. The second phase was accomplished
mostly in the summer of 1986. Included in this work were: replacement of
the Great and Swell trackers, rebushing of the keyboards, repitching the
organ (the pitch had drifted sharp after years of tuning), renovating various
tuning mechanisms, and restoration of several of the reed stops. In addition,
a wind system reservoir copied from a Johnson original was built and installed.
All of this work was done with the goal of maintaining the historical integrity
of the instrument. A recital series in the fall of 1986 celebrated the 1980s
renovations.
During the organ's centennial anniversary in 1988, the Organ Historical
Society presented the church with a citation recognizing Opus 690 as "an
instrument of exceptional historical merit worthy of preservation."
In 1998-99, additional structural, mechanical and pipework repairs and renovations were completed.
In 2004, an analysis of the underlying paint layers on the organ's facade pipes, revealed the original pipe color and a stencil design. It was too expensive at the time to redo the stencil design, but the pipes were repainted to reflect the original, golden background color.
In 2007, after an extensive building renovation, all the pipes were removed from the organ, and all elements were washed and cleaned to remove renovation dust. It should be noted that in the building renovation, carpeting in the chancel and in the rear of the sanctuary was removed and several rows of rear pews (with their pew cushions) were removed as well, thus improving the organ sound.
Great (58 notes):
Open Diapason (8 ' 58 m*)
Viola da Gamba (8 ' 58 m)
Dulciana (8 ' 58 m)
Melodia (8 ' 58 w)
Octave (4 ' 58 m)
Flute d'Amour (4 ' 58 w&m)
Twelfth (2-2/3 ' 58 m)
Super Octave (2 ' 58 m)
Trumpet (8 ' 58 m)
Swell (58 notes, enclosed):
Bourdon Bass (16 ' 12 w)
Bourdon (16 ' 46 w TC**)
Open Diapason (8 ' 58 w&m)
Viola (8 ' 58 m)
Aeoline (8 ' 58 m)
Voix Celeste (8 ' 46 m TC)
Stopped Diapason (8 ' 58 w)
Violin (4 ' 58 m)
Flute Harmonique (4 ' 58 m)
Cornet Dolce (III 174 m)
Cornopeon (8 ' 58 m)
Bassoon (8 ' 12 m)
Oboe (8 ' 46 m TC)
Vox Humana (8 ' 46 m TC)
Tremolo
Pedale (27 notes):
Double Open Diapason (16 ' 27 w)
Bourdon (16 ' 27 w)
Violoncello (8 ' 27 m)
Couplers:
Swell to Great
Great to Pedale
Swell to Pedale
Double Acting Combination Pedales:
Piano Great
Forte Great
Piano Swell
Forte Swell
Great to Pedale
Blowers Signal
Pedale Check
Balanced Swell Pedal
The enclosed Swell is above the Great. The Pedale is at the rear of the
chamber, the Bourdon and Violoncello being on a slider chest and the Double
Open Diapason on a ventil chest. There is mechanical action throughout,
with double harness action in the pedal.
*m = metal pipes; w = wood pipes. **TC = short compass ranks
ending at Tenor C.
The founder of the Johnson Organ Company, William Allen Johnson, was
born in 1816 in Nassau, NY. In 1825, his family moved to Westfield, MA.
He attended school until the age of 13, and thereafter worked at various
odd jobs before becoming apprenticed to a mason in 1834. He became interested
in organ building in 1843 when he helped install an organ in a local church.
He soon obtained the necessary equipment and built his first organ, completing
it in 1844. In 1847, he began building organs full time, and his business
continually increased. In 1871, his son, William H. Johnson, was taken into
the firm, and in 1874, the company became known as Johnson & Son. By
1878, the Johnson company had built over 500 organs. Johnson organs were
known for such characteristics as a high degree of tonal excellence, and
the continued use of tracker action even when various types of electric
action were coming into use.
The younger Johnson became head of the company in 1890 due to his father's
failing health. Opus 860 was built in 1898 and was the firm's last organ.
(This last instrument was built for the nearby St. Pauls Church, located
at the corner of Fullerton and Orchard. This organ was in use until 1955.)
The company continued supplying pipes until 1907. William A. Johnson died
in 1901 and his son died in 1921.
Of the 860 organs built by the Johnson firm, 63 of them were built for the Chicago area. One writer referred to Chicago as a "Johnson town." As of 1999, the Lincoln Park organ is one of only three Johnson organs in Chicago that are in "working order." The other is Opus 729 of the Union Avenue United Methodist Church and Opus 386 of St. Josaphat Church (originally at Mayfair United Methodist Church).
It is interesting to note that both of the other predecessor churches of
Lincoln Park Presbyterian also had Johnson organs. Christ Presbyterian (formerly
located at Armitage and Orchard) had Opus 437 (1874), a three-manual organ
that had been donated by the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago in 1914.
It was razed with the Christ Church building in 1967. Covenant Presbyterian
(formerly located at Halsted and Belden) owned Opus 689 (1888) which was
also a three-manual instrument. The Covenant organ was sold when its building
was razed in 1965.
This information was excerpted from a brochure about the organ prepared
in 1988. Sources include an earlier history written by Dorothy Allen in
1976 and information supplied by the Organ Historical Society (Chicago-Midwest
Chapter) and the Bradford Organ Company. The photograph of the organ is
courtesy of Thomas Burrows. For further information and a complete listing
of all Johnson organs, see The Johnson Organs, by John Van Varick Elsworth (1984). This book can be obtained through the Organ Historical Society, P.O. Box 26811, Richmond, VA 23261.