The Tracker

Dear Bill,

I received a copy of the Round Lake Auditorium organ history last Thursday and have thoroughly enjoyed reading it.  Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

First, the organ is a large instrument.  A large instrument of this period (pre Ca. 1850) would probably be anything more than 20 ranks.  The Davis & Ferris organ at the Round Lake Auditorium is almost twice this size.  A rank refers to the stops or sounds of a pipe organ.  For example, a flute rank refers to the pipes per manual (56-61, but may vary on historic instruments).  This is unusual because very few instruments of this size were constructed before 1850 in the United States and certainly few if any survuve significantly unaltered. 

Another significant point about the size of the organ is that it has three manuals.  I know of no other three manual instrument of this vintage that survives intact.  Others were constructed, but are significantly altered or are gone.  For example, Trinity Episcopal Church on Wall Street had a similar sized instrument that was replaced.  This is generally the fate of early, large instruments.  They are usually constructed for notable and growing parishes and as the needs of the parish grows, so does the demand for an even larger instrument or a replacement as it deteriorates.

It appeares that the sophistocated, Gothic Revival organ case might be designed by James Renwick, architect of Calvary Episcopal Church, the original location of the Davis & Ferris Organ.  The three Gothic arches of the organ case mimic the facade of Calvery Church and Renwick was known to have designed the least one other organ case for Grace Church, New York City.  Interestingly, Grace Church had a three manual, sizabler pipe organ that was dismantled in 1902.

The Round Lake Auditorium building was prupose built for a Methodist Meeting Camp and as such does seem to be a good example of this form and processes integrity.  More importantly, it appears that the auditorium was significantly enlarged and altered to accommodate teh Davis & Ferris pipe organ.  In essence, a large, tiered, polygonal apse was added to a basilica plan and the focal point is the pipe organ. This extensive modification generally redefines the purpose of the auditorium and places a pipe organ at the center stage not only to support the meetings, but also to support the growing neneteenth-century interest in the pipe organ for concerts and general entertainment.

Finally, the pipe organ has great integrity.  It has been virtually unmodified from its original configuration for Calvary Church.  It appears that the significance of the organ defines the significance of the potential landmark.  You have a monumental, historic pipe organ, possibly unequaled, with great integrity that certainly merits national recognition.

I would also recommend that the instrument be documented with history, drawings, and the photography by the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER).  A pipe organ, one of the earliest mechanical engineering creations, has never been documented by HAER and this fine example would be an excellent candidate.

All the best,

Paul D. Dolinsky, Chief
Historic American Landscape Survey
Cultural Resourse Geographic Information Systems
HAER