Wm. A. Johnson
Opus 307, 1869

From the NYC AGO NYC Organ Project: The Pillar of Fire sect began in Colorado, where it was first organized on December 29, 1901, under the name "Pentecostal Union." A periodical called the Pentecostal Union Herald was published but its name was later changed to Pillar of Fire. This title was based on the scripture in Exodus 13:21 which says: "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night." In the early 20th century, the "Tongues" movement adopted the term "Pentecostal," so to avoid confusion the Colorado sect decided to change their name to "Pillar of Fire" after their publication. Over time, the denomination expanded its work to the eastern part of the country, and its headquarters were moved to Zarephath, N.J. A church in Brooklyn was established in the former Seventh Avenue Methodist Chapel on Sterling Place at Seventh Avenue.

The Brooklyn church was destroyed on December 16, 1960, when a United Airlines DC-8 collided with a TWA Lockheed Constellation over Staten Island and then crashed into the church and ten four-story tenement buildings on Seventh Avenue. This crash was the worst air disaster at the time, leaving 134 dead, including 6 on the ground. The Pillar of Fire church was not rebuilt.

The organ in the in the church was built in 1869 by William A. Johnson of Westfield, Mass.The specifications were recorded (May 1, 1937) by Louis F. Mohr & Co., an organ service firm in the area. Sometime around 1954 the organ was moved to storage at the Pillar of Fire headquarters in Zarephath, N.J.

An original installation. Identified by John Igoe, using information found in Johnson Organs, 1844-1898: Wm. A Johnson, Johnson Organ Co., Johnson & Son: a documentary issued in honor the two hundredth anniversary of his birth, 1816-2016 / by Scot L. Huntington, Len Levasseur, Barbara Owen, Stephen L. Pinel, and Martin R. Walsh. Cranbury, New Jersey: The Princeton Academy of the Arts, Culture, and Society, 2015..
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