Pipe Organ Database

a project of the organ historical society

J. Allen Farmer, Inc. (1995)

Originally Skinner Organ Co. (Opus 248, 1916)

Location:

Biltmore Estate
One Approach Rd.
Asheville, NC 28803 US
Dining Room
Organ ID: 9781

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Status and Condition:

  • This instrument's location type is: Private Residences
  • The organ is unaltered from its original state.
  • The organ's condition is good, in regular use.
We received the most recent update for this instrument's status from Database Manager on May 13, 2018.

Technical Details:

  • Chests: EP pitman
  • 16 ranks. 2 manuals. 16 stops. 31 registers.
All:
  • Chest Type(s): EP pitman chests
  • Position: Pipes exposed (in whole or in part) in a gallery at the rear of the room.
We received the most recent update for this division from Database Manager on May 13, 2018.
Main:
  • Manuals: 2
  • Stops: 16
  • Registers: 31
  • Position: Console in fixed position, center.
  • Manual Compass: 61
  • Pedal Compass: 32
  • Key Action: Electrical connection from key to chest.
  • Stop Action: Electric connection between stop control and chest.
  • Console Style: Traditional style with roll top.
  • Stop Controls: Drawknobs in vertical rows on angled jambs.
  • Swell Control Type: Balanced swell shoes/pedals, AGO standard placement.
  • Pedalboard Type: Concave radiating pedalboard meeting AGO Standards.
  • Has Combination Action Thumb Pistons
We received the most recent update for this console from Database Manager on May 13, 2018.
Database Manager on May 07, 2018:
We received the most recent update for this note from Database Manager on May 13, 2018.
Database Manager on February 03, 2012:

Updated through online information from Stephen Hall. -- The elaborate case sketched by Richard Morris Hunt was never constructed, the Pedal 16 Open Metal Diapason is arranged as three unencased towers with four flats behind them. There is some elegant cabinetry below the pipes but no case work around the pipes.

We received the most recent update for this note from Database Manager on April 09, 2020.
Database Manager on August 20, 2008:

Updated through online information from James R. Stettner.

We received the most recent update for this note from Database Manager on April 09, 2020.
Database Manager on December 22, 2005:

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:
Restoration and relocation of E. M. Skinner Opus 248 (1916).

We received the most recent update for this note from Database Manager on April 09, 2020.
Database Manager on October 30, 2004:

The original builder was Skinner Organ Co. (Opus 248, 1916).

We received the most recent update for this note from Database Manager on April 09, 2020.
Database Manager on October 30, 2004:

Status Note: There 2001

We received the most recent update for this note from Database Manager on April 09, 2020.
Database Manager on October 30, 2004:

Relocated from Presbyterian Church, Bedford, NY. Installed behind a case built by Hutchings in 1897, with no organ behind it. No mechanical alteration, but reconfigured for the space. Façade pipes made to speak. Console roll player.

We received the most recent update for this note from Database Manager on February 11, 2019.
Source not recorded: Open In New Tab Specification from OHS Handbook, 2001 Convention
We received the most recent update for this stoplist from Database Manager on April 09, 2020.

Instrument Images:

Sketch of Proposed Organ Case: Sketch by Richard Morris Harris; image courtesy of the Library of Congress. Taken on 1895-04-19

Interior and Pipe Facade: Photograph by William T. Van Pelt. Taken on 2000-05-10

Console: Photograph by William T. Van Pelt. Taken on 2000-05-10

Close-up of Console: Photograph by William T. Van Pelt. Taken on 2000-05-10

Left Drawknobs: Photograph by William T. Van Pelt. Taken on 2000-05-10

Right Drawknobs: Photograph by William T. Van Pelt. Taken on 2000-05-10

Builder's Nameplate: Photograph by William T. Van Pelt. Taken on 2000-05-10

Pipe Chamber: Photograph by William T. Van Pelt. Taken on 2000-05-10

Interior and Pipe Facade: Photograph by William T. Van Pelt. Taken on 2000-05-10

Organ Bench: Photograph by William T. Van Pelt. Taken on 2000-05-10

Pipe Facade: Photograph by Tanner Gough. Taken on 2017-07-26

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