Skinner Organ Co.
Opus 803, 1929

Updated through online information from Timothy E. Conyers. -- The present Gothic structure with its 110 foot tower was constructed in 1928 and dedicated in October 1930. The $25,000 Ernest M. Skinner pipe organ was donated by Mrs. Grace K. Maring. She sent Homer Walk, the organist, "out east" to select the best organ he could find for High Street. The organ he chose was considered by the Skinner Organ Company to be the finest they had installed in this section of the country. The organ was dedicated with a concert by guest organist Chandler Goldthwaite of New York, on October 6, 1930.
This organ served the church until a disaster nearly destroyed the instrument. On Friday, January 27, 1978, on the third day of a severe blizzard, the two Ball State University students staying in the church apartment discovered a gas leak and reported it immediately. But before the problem could be solved, an explosion blew off the front doors and roof, shattered stained glass windows and caused extensive damage to the interior of the sanctuary and educational building. The organ suffered extensive damage due to a portion of the chancel wall and stained glass window being blown away. The roof above one of the pipe chambers was partially collapsed. Exposure to the severe weather and water damage from the fire meant that the organ would have to be rebuilt. An organ concert by Marilyn Mason in November 1985 celebrated the completion of the organ restoration. However, the rededication of the instrument was delayed until the Spring Music Festival on May 4, 1986. This event was part of the church's year-long 150th Anniversary celebration. The instrument has had at least one other renovation, in 2009 by Reynolds Associates, Inc. Their website gives the following information: "Phase I ... renovation of the IV manual console, additions of pipes to the Great and Pedal (including a 16' Violone and 16' Ophecleide), redesign of previous tonal alterations for a more cohesive ensemble." (Sources: Personal knowledge, Church history book, Reynolds website)

Identified through information adapted from E. M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner Opus List, by Sand Lawn and Allen Kinzey (Organ Historical Society, 1997), and included here through the kind permission of Sand Lawn:
Extant.