On the night of August 21, 1986 the church was all but destroyed by fire.
Highway Tabernacle Church, Philadelphia, PA
1884 Roosevelt–2 manual, 27 rank Specifications
The firm of Hilborne L. Roosevelt built their Opus 148 for what is now Highway Tabernacle Church in their Philadelphia shops in 1884. It remained virtually untouched in its original location for another 102 years until being restored by Patrick J. Murphy in 1986. What makes this story truly remarkable is that on the night of Ausust 21, 1986 the church was all but destroyed by fire. The manual pipes had all been removed and stored in the adjoining parish hall and the reservoir had been removed to a hallway to be sent out for releathering when the fire hit. The metal façade pipes, still in place, were damaged beyond repair as were a number of the wooden bourdon pipes in the façade to the sides of the metal pipes. Recycled Bourdon pipes from Roosevelt Opus 100, 1883, were located to replace the damaged ones. A. R. Schopps constructed new metal façade pipes drawings to match the ones destroyed in the fire. The windchests were re-tabled and repaired and the fire-damaged action restored. The result is an organ that is much as Hilborne Roosevelt left it in 1884. A phoenix organ indeed! All of this along with a meticulous 1.5 million dollar rebuilding and restoration of the church itself showcases as a fine example of 19th centuryorganbuilding.
An Interesting feature of this instrument is the fact that notes 1-12 of the 8' Dulciana are borrowed from the 8' Doppel Flöte by grooving inside the toe boards. In a similar fashion, the bottom octave of the 8' Dolce share a bass with the 8' Stopped Diapason.
Highway Tabernacle Church, Philadelphia, PA
| 1884 Roosevelt–2 manual, 27 rank Mechanical Action |
||
|---|---|---|
| Great | Swell | Pedal |
| 16' DoubleOpen Diapason | 16' Bourdon | 16' Open Diapason |
| 8' Open Diapason | 8' Violin Diapason | 16' Bourdon |
| 8' Doppel Flöte | 8' Stopped Diapason | 8' Violoncello |
| 8' Viola Di Gamba | 8' Dolce | |
| 8' Dulciana | 4' Flute Harmonique | |
| 4' Octave | 4' Gemshorn | |
| 2 2/3' Octave Quint | 2' Flageolet | |
| 2' Super Octave | Cornet III | |
| Mixture III | 8' Cornopean | |
| 8' Trumpet | 8' Oboe | |
| Tremulant | ||
| Couplers | Pedal Movements | |
| (by on/off thumb pistons) | ||
| Swell to Great | Great to Piano, Great Forte | |
| Swell to Great Octaves | Swell Piano, Great Forte | |
| Great to Pedal | Great to Pedal Reversible | |
| Swell to Pedal | ||