Luley Organ Company
Builders of fine pipe organs since 1983
St. Anthony's Chapel
Troy Hill, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
In early 2012, St. Anthony's Chapel, a historic pilgrimage site in Pittsburgh's Troy Hill neighborhood, contacted us about rebuilding their pipe organ. The original instrument by an unknown builder had been purchased second hand and installed in 1892 upon completion of the building. Over the years, other firms removed and replaced the original console, mechanism, and almost all of the pipework with inferior materials. Very little remained of the original organ by the early 2000s except for three ranks of pipes and the twin gothic cases. After limping along for 40 years the mechanism began to fail rapidly. The chapel essentially needed a new organ. The organ cases were restructured for better stability, and a new swell box was constructed. All new main wind chests and several offset wind chests were constructed, and the winding system was overhauled. The console from the most recent rebuild in 1972 was completely rebuilt with new tracker touch manuals, stop rail, pedal key coverings, and solid state combination system. The facade pipes have been refurbished and repainted, with one set returned to speech after decades of silence. Vintage pipework from our inventory replaced the poor quality pipework installed in the 1930s and 1970s, and the entire instrument was voiced along late 19th century English tonal lines.