Harry Hall Organ Co.

[smilingvox]

There never seems to be an end to my questions, which, at times, can be nearly impossible to answer.

Many have heard of organs built by Labagh-Hall and by Thomas Hall, but has anybody, here, ever heard of Harry Hall? He built about 560 instruments between the late 1890s and 1940.

I just inspected a large one he built not far from where I live. The Thompson-Allen company restored one in a funeral chapel in Bristol, Connecticut (just read their article). The quality seems to be superior. I'm trying to find out more about this builder and his work. Besides, Thompson-Allen's article, google has next to nothing.

Any leads?

 

[TJQOrganbuilder]

I have some info on Harry Hall Organ Co. The company was established by Harry Hall in New Haven, Ct, 1898.; incorporated 1912. Raymond H. Clarke was the last owner, closed late 1940's.

Harry Hall was born in Horsham, Sussex, England. Worked for Hook & Hastings of Kendal Green, MA, 1888; partner with Herbert Harrison in Harrison & Hall of New Haven, Ct, 1897; in successor Hall Organ Co., 1898; left firm and formed Harry Hall Co of Hamden, Ct , c1930; died 19 Aug 1945 in New Haven Ct., age 75.

Do you have pictures of organs built in the early 1920's by the Harry Hall Co. My great grandfather was an organ builder and worked for this company in the early 1920's.

I found the info on this company in the Guide to North American Organbuilders; David H Fox, Organ Historical Society, Richmond, VA, 1991 ISBN 0-013499-08-0

Any info on employees or photos of their organs?

 

[davegivens]

I have some info on Harry Hall Organ Co. The company was established by Harry Hall in New Haven, Ct, 1898.; incorporated 1912. Raymond H. Clarke was the last owner, closed late 1940's.

Harry Hall was born in Horsham, Sussex, England. Worked for Hook & Hastings of Kendal Green, MA, 1888; partner with Herbert Harrison in Harrison & Hall of New Haven, Ct, 1897; in successor Hall Organ Co., 1898; left firm and formed Harry Hall Co of Hamden, Ct , c1930; died 19 Aug 1945 in New Haven Ct., age 75.

Do you have pictures of organs built in the early 1920's by the Harry Hall Co. My great grandfather was an organ builder and worked for this company in the early 1920's.

I found the info on this company in the Guide to North American Organbuilders; David H Fox, Organ Historical Society, Richmond, VA, 1991 ISBN 0-013499-08-0

Any info on employees or photos of their organs?

Greetings from a newcomer!

I've been playing a Hall Organ for eons at First Church of Christ, Scientist, Alameda, CA. It was installed in 1921, 2 manuals, 11 ranks, originally. All I heard was: "it's superbly built- will last and last!" My warning to the membership: It's been 80 years now; how long can you go on a set of tires?"

Meanwhile, over in San Francisco, the Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915 installed installed a Hall in an exhibit hall. After the Fair, it went to Second Church of Christ, Scientist, SF, where it has remained unaltered and intact since. Now the news: The edifice has been sold, the developer will junk the organ if a new home isn't found by the end of August!

Back in Alameda, we underwent a major restoration and tonal enhancement, were given a small Welte organ from which we incorporated a few ranks, had Organ Supply, Erie, PA, make a judicious set of Principals 8&4, a new string Principal for the Swell, a tapered mutation. All in all, that certain tubbiness that characterized Hall Diapasons was masterfully handled. The builder was in awe of its original Oboe (more like an Hautbois). We still have that wonderful American Romantic sound. We spent $100k to rescue a $5k installation in 1921. It's replacement value today: $450k.

 

[Krummhorn]

:wave: Welcome to our forum, Dave!

And thanks for the information about where you play a Hall organ.

So sad to hear about the Frisco extant Hall organ ... hopefully some entity or organ technician will latch onto it before it gets junked; that would be a total shame.

 

[GoneBaroque]

It would be tragic if the instrument were to disappear. could the Organ Historical Society be of any help?

Rob

 

[James Flood]

My name is James Flood and I am Minister of Music at First Baptist Church, Niagara Falls, New York, USA. I play a Hall Organ, Opus 682, installed in March-April 1939. It must have been one of the last. It was originally a 3/17+ with capture combination action. Water damage more than once lead to a complete rebuild and enlargement. Go to www.niagarafallsbaptist.org for details. Recordings are available from the church or through www.michaelsmusicservice.com Original quality quite high and enlargement completes the tonal pallet. I recognized the pipework from the A. Thompson-Allen posting of their rebuild of a two manual in a mortuary chapel; the console style is identical. Reply to me if you want more information: [email protected]

 

[GoneBaroque]

Thank you for your posting. That is a fine sounding instrument, nice to have a variety of clips to listen to.

 

[musicman]

Regarding the Hall organ company, it should be noted that the factory was located
​

in West Haven, CT, the next town over from New Haven, and was on Campbell Ave.
​

The First Congregtional Church on the Green, West Haven, had a larger three manual
​

Hall located in the front of the sanctuary. It was built around 1919(approx.),
​

and dedicated to the memory of those soldiers killed in WW I.
​

It was replaced in 1974 by a small two manual tracker by the A. David Moore Co., which incorporates a Thomas Appleton case. It is located in the rear balcony.
​

--------------------------------
​

Referring Page: http://www.magle.dk/music-forums/11403-harry-hall-organ-co.html​

 

[Krummhorn]

Thank you, musicman, for posting this information.

Much appreciated :tiphat:

Kh

 

[wljmrbill]

Interesting reading. THanks guys. James ..I enjoyed your playing and sound of the organ. It is ashame that it is so what I call "dry" sounding:but is building problems..tear up some carpet...might help.

 

[NielsKMadsen]

My name is James Flood and I am Minister of Music at First Baptist Church, Niagara Falls, New York, USA. I play a Hall Organ, Opus 682, installed in March-April 1939. It must have been one of the last. It was originally a 3/17+ with capture combination action. Water damage more than once lead to a complete rebuild and enlargement. Go to www.niagarafallsbaptist.org for details. Recordings are available from the church or through www.michaelsmusicservice.com Original quality quite high and enlargement completes the tonal pallet. I recognized the pipework from the A. Thompson-Allen posting of their rebuild of a two manual in a mortuary chapel; the console style is identical. Reply to me if you want more information: [email protected]

This is Neils .I was also play Hall organ in a pagoda.This was really a great experience to play Hall organ in a function.But today I have left this profession for my weakness ,But I miss The Hall Organ very much.My Hall Organ is very old and it was also played my Grandfather also my father played this.So I am proud of this organ.But I miss it so much.Hey Buddy James you have a great luck to play this kind of instrument.So go ahead it will give you a lots pleasure.

Sincerely

Neils

 

[suenorth]

More on Hall Organ Company

I'm the granddaughter of George North, who was, I believe, the co-owner of Hall Organ, West Haven, CT, with Harry Hall. The company ceased making pipe organs at the start of World War II, and, with my father Edward as president of the company, produced various items for the war effort. I do have some of the papers/photos, etc. relating to the company. I'd be happy to share what I have with anyone interested.

There never seems to be an end to my questions, which, at times, can be nearly impossible to answer.

Many have heard of organs built by Labagh-Hall and by Thomas Hall, but has anybody, here, ever heard of Harry Hall? He built about 560 instruments between the late 1890s and 1940.

I just inspected a large one he built not far from where I live. The Thompson-Allen company restored one in a funeral chapel in Bristol, Connecticut (just read their article). The quality seems to be superior. I'm trying to find out more about this builder and his work. Besides, Thompson-Allen's article, google has next to nothing.

Any leads?

 

[cecainterimrector]

I am the Interim Rector at Christ Episcopal Church located in Ansonia, Connecticut, USA. We have a George S Hutchings, Opus 486, Pipe Organ built in 1899. According to our organ curator, The Thompson-Allen Co., New Haven, CT, "in the 1920's, the Hall Organ Company converted the action between the (new) Hall electro-pneumatic console and the wind chests to electro-pneumatic action by removing the lead tubing and by installing their typical Hall chest magnets where the lead tubes had entered the chest primaries. This work was carefully and professionally done: from the magnet boards upwards, however the organ is entirely original with respect to its side-valve pitman windchests, pipework and chassis, including the Hutchings regulators. The Hall console was placed on the opposite side of the Chancel to where the Hutchings console had been (we may have lost the Hutchings name plaque at that time. The mechanical swell pedal linkage was replaced by a Hall 8-station swell engine when the Hall console was installed. The Hall company also installed a 25-note set of Deagan Class A chimes and a 49-note Mayland harp, both with Hall actions, located in the swell box. The Hall console received a new supply-house combination action in the 1940's, which is currently inoperable." It would be helpful if we could obtain a copy of the Classified List of Hall Organs published in 1929 by the Hall Organ Co., west Haven, CT

 

[teddy]

Welcome to the forum. I trust you will enjoy your time here.

teddy

 

[Krummhorn]

Wow, lots of recent activity on this thread lately. A huge MIMF thank you :tiphat: to those that have recently joined and shared information on the Hall Organs.

To the newest members, a happy hello :wave: and we hope you stick around, and enjoy the site as well.

 

[cecainterimrector]

Thanks. I'm wondering whether anyone might be able to either direct me to the citation for our organ, or provide a copy of the citation from the Classified List. We're in the process of applying to the Organ Historical Society's Awards Program, and the citation might be helpful since we no longer have the Hutchings plaque, which, I'm told, would have been on the console! Fr. Dick

 

[cecainterimrector]

Sue North, Do you have any information about the Geo. S, Hutchings Organ, Opus 486, at Christ Episcopal Church, Ansonia, Ct. that The Hall Organ Co. modified in the 1920's? Would you have a copy of the Classified List of Hall Organs from which you could extract any information? Thanks, Fr. Dick

 

[gsjohnson68]

Hello. I came across this thread with great interest. I have a 1931 Hall organ installed in my home, Opus 605. It was originally installed in a church in West Haven CT, and I acquired it in 1982 when the church decided to sell it and replace it with with an electronic organ. To my knowledge, the organ has never been rebuilt and is still going strong...at 85 years of age! It is complete sans three of its longest 16-foot wooden pedal diapason pipes. Ceiling height prevented their installation. The organ also has a 16-foot stopped Bourdon rank, from which the lowest three notes are borrowed to help replace the three missing Diapason pipes.

In 2011, I rewired the organ making it MIDI compatible. It still plays from the console as it always has, but now can be played using pre-recorded MIDI files from a laptop computer. It also has record and playback capabilities.

I was told the last organ made by the Hall Organ Company is installed, and still in use, at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church, Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT. I believe that organ is Opus 678 (or perhaps 687). I had an opportunity to play that organ sometime in the mid 1980's.

More information concerning Hall Organs, and other organs, may be gleaned from searching the Organ Historical Society database (Google "OHS Database").

Geoff

 

[AdditLady]

I just saw this forum when I googled Hall Organ Co. My father, Clifford North was part of the company for many years. I believe after the company ceased, it became American Woodworking. I found many of the comments fascinating.

 

[Krummhorn]

I just saw this forum when I googled Hall Organ Co. My father, Clifford North was part of the company for many years. I believe after the company ceased, it became American Woodworking. I found many of the comments fascinating.

Fascinating to learn of this history fact. Thanks for sharing with the rest of our community, AdditLady