Pipe Organ Database

a project of the organ historical society

Unknown Builder (1920's)

Originally Hall Organ Co. (1919)

Location:

Virginia Street Church (Swedenborgian)
170 Virginia St
St. Paul, MN 55102 US
Sanctuary; front
Organ ID: 40428

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Status and Condition:

  • This instrument's location type is: Swedenborgian Churches
  • The organ is unaltered from its original state.
  • The organ's condition is unknown.
We received the most recent update for this instrument's status from Jim Stettner on October 30, 2020.

Technical Details:

  • Chests: Information unknown or not applicable
  • 11 ranks. 3 divisions. 2 manuals. 11 stops. 12 registers.
All:
We received the most recent update for this division from Database Manager on May 13, 2018.
Main:
  • Built by Hall Organ Co.
  • Manuals: 2
  • Divisions: 3
  • Stops: 11
  • Registers: 12
  • Position: Console in fixed position, left.
  • 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: Stop keys above top manual.
  • Combination Action: Adjustable combination pistons.
  • Swell Control Type: Balanced swell shoes/pedals.
  • Pedalboard Type: Concave radiating pedalboard meeting AGO Standards.
  • Has Crescendo Pedal
  • Has Combination Action Thumb Pistons
We received the most recent update for this console from Jim Stettner on October 30, 2020.
Jim Stettner on October 30, 2020:

This organ is a second-hand instrument. From the Ramsey County Historical Society quarterly publication, Fall 2001, Vol. 36, No. 3, pg. 29, “The Financial Angel Who Rescued 3M The Life and Times of Lucius Pond Ordway” - Her love of music sustained her, and so did friends who dropped by every afternoon for tea and sandwiches. She listened to the radio, Alexandra Bjorklund remembered; she had a phonograph “that flipped the records for her, and she had a stack of symphonies.” The house had a pipe organ “and the entire attic was filled with pipes,” but the time was past when Jessie Ordway could play it. The organ eventually went to the Swedenborgian church.

We received the most recent update for this note from Jim Stettner on October 30, 2020.
Database Manager on April 03, 2009:

Identified through on-line information from Richard C Greene.

We received the most recent update for this note from Database Manager on April 09, 2020.
Stoplist copied from the Twin Cities AGO Organ List: Open In New Tab Originally published October 30, 2020
We received the most recent update for this stoplist from Jim Stettner on October 30, 2020.

Instrument Images:

Sanctuary interior with organ facade at left: Photograph from an archival source: Paul Nelson, “Virginia Street Swedenborgian Church,” Saint Paul Historical, accessed October 30, 2020, https://saintpaulhistorical.com/items/show/120., submitted by Jim Stettner. Taken approx. ca. 1920

Sanctuary interior with organ facade: Photograph by Kimmy Tanaka; on Paul Nelson, “Virginia Street Swedenborgian Church,” Saint Paul Historical, accessed October 30, 2020, https://saintpaulhistorical.com/items/show/120., submitted by Jim Stettner. Taken on 2013-05-14

Console and facade: Photograph from an archival source: Twin Cities AGO Organ List, submitted by Jim Stettner. Taken approx. ca. 2016

Console: Photograph from an archival source: Twin Cities AGO Organ List, submitted by Jim Stettner. Taken approx. ca. 2016

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