Skinner Organ Co.
Opus 666, 1927
First Congregational Church
Sanctuary
292 Bellview Street
Benton Harbor, MI, US
34 Ranks - 2,309 Pipes
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IMAGES
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STOPLISTS
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CONSOLES
Builder: Unknown
Position: Console in Fixed Position, Right
Design: Traditional With Roll Top
Pedalboard Type: Concave Radiating (Meeting AGO Standards)
Features:
4 Manuals (61 Notes)32 Note Pedal6 Divisions31 Stops36 RegistersElectrical Key ActionElectrical Stop Action✓ Crescendo✓ Combination Thumb Piston(s)✓ Combination Toe Piston(s)✓ Coupler Thumb Piston(s)✓ Coupler Toe Piston(s)✓ Sforzando Thumb Piston(s)✓ Sforzando Toe Piston(s)Stop Layout: Drawknobs in Vertical Rows on Angled Jambs
Expression Type: Balanced Expression Shoes/Pedals (Details Unknown)
Combination Action: Adjustable Combination Pistons
Control System: Unknown or N/A
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DETAILS
This instrument is: Extant and Playable in this location
Down to 36 members, the last service for First Congregational was held in 2007; the facility was given to Chicago megachurch Trinity United Church of Christ, but their development plans were thwarted by the depression of 2008; with assistance from Trinity UCC and other congregations, Wide Awake United Church of Christ opened in the facility and is still going strong at this time.
Database Manager on July 14th, 2018:
Congregation held its last service in 2007. According to a 2018 newspaper article, there is water leaking into the building through the bell tower. The floor of the bell tower had collapsed into a Sunday School room below it.
Database Manager on May 1st, 2009:
Updated through online information from John Gouwens. -- This organ replaced the Skinner Op. 547 that had been lost in a fire soon after its installation. At present (2009), the church has been bought by another congregation (Trinity UCC in Chicago), and is used also by a Seventh-day Adventist congregation. Neither group reportedly uses the organ. The organ shows predictable signs of wear, and is in somewhat shaky condition, but it is completely original. Room acoustics are quite good!
Database Manager on April 19th, 2006:
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:
Replaced #547, which had been lost in a fire; extant; unaltered.
Webpage Links: Opus 666: First Congregational Church
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