James Hall, (Co.)
1845

Copied from -The Daily National Intelligencer and Washington Express Nov. 14, 1845, pg. 3:

New Organ At Georgetown – An esteemed correspondent, who is well versed in the science of music, has furnished us with the subjoined description of the new organ lately erected in the Presbyterian Church, Georgetown: The Organ is fifteen feet in height, and of the Grecian order of architecture. It has twelve stops – six on the great organ, and six on the swell. It has two rows of keys, with a pedal coupling. The stops are as follows: In the great organ, open diapason, stop diapason, principal, twelfth, flute and fifteenth. In the swell dulcinea (sic), stop diapason, principal, flute, fifteenth and stop diapason. The new Organ, above described was manufactured by Mr. James Hall, of Baltimore, and our correspondent, who has minutely examined it, pronounced it to be first-rate.

In the newspaper, The Critic and Record, Washington DC , 6/20/1889, this organ was being sold, by the Georgetown builder/assembler, Wilson Reiley. Reiley provided a new organ for Georgetown Presbyterian in 1890. He describes the Hall organ as having 14 stops.

Note - There was only one Presbyterian Church in Georgetown, West street was renamed P street.

(James Hall, brother of Thomas Hall, moved to Baltimore, from Philadelphia in the early 1840s. Possibly because there were at least three large Thomas Hall organs in Baltimore at that time, and Norris Hales was the only other person doing organ work in the city at that time).

This entry describes an original installation of a new pipe organ. Identified by Steven Bartley, citing information from this publication: November 15, 1845 pg. 1. This church building was erected in 1821 (the 2nd building for this congregation) at 30th & M streets, moved to its present location, in 1872, at 3115 P St NW Washington DC. James Hall was related to Thomas Hall, and settled in Baltimore in the early 1840s. His output of organs, under his name is small, though was builder/assembler for the Baltimore branch of his brother-in-Law Henry Erben, during the 1850s. The following is the entry in the Baltimore Sun Paper. A Baltimore Built Organ.- A correspondent of the National Intelligencer gives the following description of a new organ just built and erected in the Presbyterian Church at Georgetown, D.C., by Mr. James Hall , of Baltimore:-"The Organ is fifteen feet in height, and of the Grecian order of architecture. It has twelve stops-six on the great organ, and six on the swell. It has two rows of keys, with a pedal coupling.The stops are as follows: In the great organ open diapason, stop diapason, principal, flute, twelfth, and fifteenth. In the swell, dulciana, stop diapason principal, flute, fifteenth, stop diapason."

Identified through information in Classified List of Hall Organs, published in 1929 by Hall Organ Co., West Haven, Connecticut.

Ed. - This church was known by three names: Bridge Street Presbyterian, West Street Presbyterian, and Georgetown Presbyterian.