A. Thompson-Allen Company restores Skinner Opus 862
A. Thompson-Allen Company has restored the Skinner Organ Company Opus 862 organ at Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The mechanism and pipework were found to be mostly complete. The original “vertical selector” electro-pneumatic console was long gone and had been replaced, first by an Austin tab console in the 1970s, and then by a solid-state console by David Harris in 1985. Richard Houghten updated and rebuilt this console in 2017, and it remains as such. All of the components of the 1931 chassis remain and have been fully restored.
The pipework was mostly complete and has been restored to the original specifications.
The blower has been fully restored by Joseph Sloane, converting the original motor from two-phase to three-phase. The reeds have been restored by Chris Broome of Broome & Co., LLC, to the original specifications. The goal of the restoration has been to restore the organ to “as built” condition throughout.
The project is featured on the cover of the February issue of The Diapason.
For information: www.thompson-allen.com
Photo credit: David Ottenstein Photography (©2022 David Ottenstein)
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