Skinner Organ Co.
Opus 455, 1923

There are some more very distictive qualities that this organ possesses: 1) Although every division is enclosed, at one time the entire organ was enclosed. (The only unenclosed manual stops are in the Great: 16' Diapason, 8' Gross Flute.) 2) Center over the solo manual is a device where the order of swell shoes can be assigned/combined. The top most control allowed six different levels of closure (or openness) for the entire organ. This capability, while not tonal in nature, is a feature that has been "disabled" for any one of a number of reasons. 3) In the Traps division, rather than use Wurlitzer's established and proven mechanisms to operate the percussive sounds, Mr. Skinner designed his own, and quite elaborate, system which proved to be far more challenging to restore (I can't comment on ease or difficulty of maintenance). 4) Over the toe pistons to the right of the Crescendo pedal, is the Thunder lever. When activated, it brings the lower seven notes of the pedal into play with whatever stops are pulled in the stop jamb. It is possible to control the number of notes with how far the lever is pushed. A device of this nature 80-100 years ago was not uncommon for both organs and composers. Lemmens composed a piece (subtitled The Storm) in which Thunder is a key part to its overall drama.

And for purposes of clarification in the specifications as printed: A) "Has Toe Pistons for Combination Action": the toe pistons to the left of the Swell shoes are for a selected set of 4 Traps but only operate the device and not the stop. The 8 toe pistons to the right of the Crescendo Pedal are designated for Pedal stops only and do not affect any other division. B) What is identified as "Coupler Reversible Toe Pistons" are actually toe spoons placed over the toe pistons--the spoon to the left is Gt/Ped, and the spoon to the right is Solo/Gt. The second toe spoon is actually the Thunder lever (noted earlier) and third is the Reversible Tutti. C) There is no "sequencer" (unless one has been wired in since 2015). The capabilities are most likely present given the versatility of the multi-level memory system. And IF a sequencer were to be set up, it could never be labeled anywhere on the console. It took repeated proposals and committee level approvals just to place the memory level indicator to the far right over the coupler rail. Being a part of the art treasures in a musesum, restoration can happen but a work of art cannot be altered in any way.

There are four on-off thumb pistons under each manual to the far right. If activated it will capture the pedal stops of what is set on each of the dedicated pedal toe pistons. In other words, when this feature is "on", Swell thumb #1 will also bring on what is set on pedal piston #1. There are also thumb pistons located in the key cheeks which allow the Echo division (at home on the Solo) playable on the choir or swell manuals, and can serve as silencers or couplers. These are not affected by the general combination action.

The Arch Clarion: It is absolutely true that this stop could be heard over to the Marin Headlands due to the museum's prime location and far less environmental noise. The Golden Gate Bridge was not opened until 1937. Pan Am clipper service was one flight every Wednesday by mid-1934 . Auto traffic was very light, and except for the occasional fog horn, there were far fewer sounds vying for aural attention. Hearing the organ in the forecourt: the opening for the organ was a single panel frieze located over the front doors. It took 150 revolutions of a very large manual steel crank to open. As well, given the variance in temperatures and humidity, it took days to correct even when open for one hour. It was opened once at the time of the re-opening of the museum after renovation. That was in 1995.

The wellness of this organ is safe. It is known that the Joseph G. Bradley Trust: 1) is the single largest gift the SF museums had received up to the time of Mr. Bradley's gift; 2) the gift was directed such that it could only be used for the restoration, on-going maintenance, and funding of the organ recitals; 3) the gift was to be used or it would be forfeited, and 4) the trust is administered through a Pennsylvania law firm.

Updated by Bob Shoring, who gave this as the source of the information: Attend weekly concerts and the organists keep me updated on matters related to the organ.

The only tonal change to the organ since 1924 was the moving of the 8' Arch Clarion stop indoors after 2011. When built, was an outdoor stop, speaking on 30" wind. It was said that it could be heard from ships in the bay or even downtown San Francisco. That stop originally had 44 pipes. I understand that when it was moved indoors, they added pipes to complete the rank. It is enclosed in its own chamber, tightly enclosed to prevent the loud stop from overwhelming the audience. It is a very brilliant, heroic trumpet. Other than that, the organ's stop list and character is just as Mr. Skinner left it.

The console is of walnut and was designed by Marshall N. Giselman (information from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco).

Updated through online information from Bob Shoring. -- While organ has been mechanically restored, it has remained tonally unchanged from its 1924 installation. It's now in excellent condition and is played twice a week.

Updated 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:
Ceiling installation; organ can be heard in the front court through a series of moveable panels; Triumphal Arch at entrance to court contains Chimes and Clarion; extant; ongoing restoration by Edward Millington Stout III (1994).

Status Note: There 1988.