Last May I posted a story about the food pantry at Second Presbyterian Church in which I mentioned the start of an interior renovation of the Romanesque Revival structure on Westminster at Taylor. The first phase of the project has now been completed on the sanctuary.
The restoration involved extensive plastering, painting, and renovation of the sound system in the sanctuary. Because of the dust and debris that would be generated with the renovation, it was decided that the organ, which was installed in 1965, should be cleaned and refitted at the same time. Second Presbyterian’s organist Andrew Peters said that organs need cleaning and refitting every 40 to 50 years.
Interior photos by Mary Gene Boteler
On May 1st the organ’s builder, who still works for the company that originally installed it, Schantz Organ Co. of Orville, Ohio, arrived in a semi-tractor trailer with the original blueprints in hand.
He and his crew disassembled the organ and returned to Ohio with a stunning 3000-plus pipes back to be cleaned and refitted.
The largest of the pipes are 16’ long, the smallest are one-haf the size of a pencil!!
(From this photograph,taken by Mary Gene Boteler, you see two examples of Tiffany windows installed in the sanctuary.)
At the beginning of this month the organ builder returned with 85% of the restored pipes, which were put
back in place and tuned. I asked Andrew how the organ sounded without the complete set of pipes. He and the congregation agree that it sounds wonderful, much better than before.
There is more to be done when the builder returns the second week of January. In addition to installing the remainder of the pipes, Schantz Organ Co. will perform the “finishing,” when each of the 3000+ pipes will be tested to be certain they sound perfectly clear and well-rounded. Finishing will take two weeks, during which the sanctuary must remain completely quiet.
You can hear Andrew Peters play the refitted organ tomorrow (Sunday) during services at 11 a.m. On Christmas Eve there is a service at 4 and at 10 p.m. Next Sunday, December 30, services are at 11 a.m., and there will be more carols and Christmas readings. All are invited.