Stoplist:

4 Manuals / 53 Ranks / 3684 Pipes

GREAT (Man.2)  (10” w.p.)
1    Open Diapason 16’ (leathered, 13-24 wood, 1-12 missing)
2    Bourdon 16’  (wood)
3    1st. Open Diapason 8’ (from # 1)
4    2nd. Open Diapason 8’ (1-12 wood)
5    Geigen Principal 8’ (1-12 wood)
6    Gross Flute 8’  (wood)
7    Gamba 8’ (1-12 wood)
8    Clarabella 8’ (wood)
9    Flute Celeste 8’ (tenor C, wood)
10    Gedeckt 8’ (from #2)
11    Gemshorn 8’ (changed 1932, was Doppel Flute)
12    Octave 4’ (from #4)
13    Harmonic Flute 4’
14    Flute d’Amour 4’ (from#6 )
15    Gemshorn 4’ (from#11)
16    Harmonic Piccolo 2’ (from#13)
17    Mixture 3rks. (1rk,2-2/3, from#7and#17)
18    Trumpet 16’ (1-12 missing)
19    Trumpet 8’ (from #18)
20    Tuba Profunda 16’ (from Solo #65)
21    Harmonic Tuba 8’ (from Solo #66)
22    Clarion 4’ (from Solo #67)

ECHO (Man.2)  (10” w.p.)
23    Open Diapason 8’ (1-12 wood)
24    Gross Flute 8’ (wood)
25    Gamba 8’ (1-12 wood)
26    Gamba Celeste 8’ (tenor c)
27    Melodia 8’ (wood)
28    Gemshorn 8’  (1-12 wood)
29    Octave 4’    from #23
30    Gambette 4’ (from #25)
31    Flute 4’ (from #27)
32    Tuba (harmonic from tenor c)
33    Tremulant
34    Chimes (21 notes AA-f)

SWELL (Man.3)  (10” w.p.)
35    Contra Viole 16’  (1-12 wood)
36    Gedeckt 16’ (wood)
37    Diapason Phonon 8’ (leathered,1-12 wood)
38    Open Diapason 8’ (1-12 wood)
39    Viole d’Gamba 8’
40    Flute Traverso 8’ (wood)
41    Viola 8’  (from #35)
42    Stopped Diapason 8’ (from #36)
43    Viole d’Orchestre 8’
44    Viole Celeste 8’ (tenor c)
45    Spitz Flute 8’ (1-12 wood)
46    Salicional 8’
47    Octave 4’ (from #38)
48    Wald Flute 4’ (wood)
49    Flute 4’ (from #40)
50    Salicet 4’  (from #46)
51    Flageolet 2’ (from #48)
52    Dolce Cornet 3rks. (1rk.,2-2/3’, from #43 and #52)
53    Contra Fagotto 16’
54    Cornopean 8’
55    Fagotto 8’  (from #53)
56    Vox Humana 8’
57    Clarion 4’  (from #54)
58    Tremulant

SOLO (Man.4)    (10”w.p.)
59    Stentorphone 8’ (leathered, 1-12 wood)
60    Philomela 8’ (25-49 missing, wood)
61    Cello 8’
62    Vibrant String 8’
63    Flute 4’  (from #60)
64    Cor Anglais 8’
65    Tuba Profunda 16’ (25”w.p., 1-36 wood resonators, harmonic at #43, double harmonic at #54)
66    Harmonic Tuba 8’ (from #65)
67    Clarion 4’ (from #65)
68    Tremulant

CHOIR (Man.1)   (10” w.p.)
69    Quintaten 16’  (1-24 wood)
70    Open Diapason 8’ (1-12 wood)
71    Geigan Principal 8’ (sic., 1-12 wood)
72    Concert Flute 8’ (harmonic, wood)
73    Gemshorn 8’  (1-12 wood)
74    Quintadena 8’ (from #69)
75    Dulciana 8’   (1-12 wood)
76    Octave 4’  (from #71)
77    Hohl Flute 4’ (wood)
78    Flute 4’ (from #72)
79    Fugara 4’ (from #79)
80    Piccolo 2’  (from #77)
81    French Horn 8’
82    Orchestral Oboe 8’   
83    Clarinet 8’ (belled)
84    Tremulant
85    Harp (stopped wood resonators, 61n.)

PEDAL  (10”w.p.)
86    Double Open Diapason 32’ (1-5 25”, 1-7 resultant, from GGGG, wood)
87    Contra Bourdon 32’ (1-7 resultant, from GGGG, wood)
88    Open Diapason 16’ (from #86)
89    Violone 16’ (from Great #5)
90    Bourdon 16’ (from #87)
91    Contra Viole 16’ (from Swell #35)
92    Octave Bass 8’ (from #86)
93    Cello 8’ (from Solo #61 and 62)
94    Flute 8’ (from #87)
95    Contra Bombarde 32’ (from Solo #65)
96    Tuba Profunda 16’ (from Solo #65)
97    Contra Fagotto 16’ (from Swell #53)
98    Harmonic Tuba 8’ (from Solo #65)
99    Clarion 4’ (from Solo #65)
100    Echo Bourdon 16’ (wood)
101    Echo Flute 8’ (from #100)

COUPLERS

Pedal Octaves
Great to Pedal
Great to Pedal 4’
Swell to Pedal
Swell to Pedal 4’Choir to Pedal
Choir to Pedal 4’
Solo to Pedal
Solo to Pedal 4’
Great 4’
Swell to Great
Swell to Great 4’
Swell to Great 16’
Choir to Great
Choir to Great 4’
Choir to Great 16’
Solo to Great
Swell 4’
Swell 16’
Choir to Swell
Choir to Swell 4’
Choir to Swell 16’
Solo to Swell
Choir 4’
Choir 16’
Swell to Choir
Swell to Choir 4’
Swell to Choir 16’
Solo 4’
Solo 16’
Swell to Solo
Swell to Solo 4’
Swell to Solo 16’

COMBINATION ACTION
Great and Echo 1-8
Swell 1-8
Choir 1-8
Solo 1-8
Pedal 1-8
Full Organ 1-6
Setter

CHEEK BUTTONS
Unison Off/On for Swell, Choir, Solo
Stage Shades On/Both/Off
Great On/Both/Echo On

BALLANCED PEDALS
Great and Choir
Swell
Solo
Echo
Crescendo

TOE LEVERS
Pedal pistons 1-8 (duplicate)
Full organ pistons 1-6 (duplicate)
Setter (duplicate)
Great to Pedal Reversible
Sforzondo Reversible
Indicator lamps for;
Voltage (w/push button to activate)
Crescendo (5 lamps)
Sforzondo
Voltmeter

Left: Solo and Swell (10 hp 2 stage, Kinetic, single phase)
Right: Great and Choir (7-1/2hp Kinetic, single phase)
Echo: (3hp Kinetic, single phase)

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Video on YouTube, produced by Jeff Lyons, of Garland Mullen playing the Coliseum Organ with Jeff interviewing Garland in 1984
[YouTube video accessed in March of 2024]

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History:

The illustrious history of this large pipe organ began in 1918 when a contract was produced between M. P. Moller and the Joint Centenary Committee of the Methodist Episcopal Church for the building of an organ to be temporarily installed at the Centenary Exhibition of American Methodist Missions in Columbus, Ohio in 1919.  Two cities, Macon, GA and Evansville, IN, both wanted the instrument following the Centenary. Negotiating efforts of Evansville leaders such as Mayor Bosse and Dr. Alfred Hughes of Evansville College (a college with ties to the Methodist Church) were ultimately successful, and the city of Evansville purchased the organ for the coliseum with much celebration by the local press and citizenry.

Dr. Alfred Hughes, the first president of Evansville College, pledged to raise $5000 toward the purchase cost of $31,500 from friends of the college and church, and his pledge was made in the name of Evansville College. 

The organ was named in memory of Milton Z. Tinker, who came to Evansville in 1867 and worked as superintendent of music in the Evansville public schools for 47 years.  It was used for for city, county, community and college events, and was closely associated with the growth of the music department at the college.

The organ was rebuilt by Möller around 1933 as opus 6059.  A Moller Artiste Player mechanism was added around the time of the rebuild which allowed the instrument to be played without an organist for events in the coliseum.  The organ was played by famous organists including the following:

1939: Marcel Dupre - with daughter on piano - attendance: 1,500

1946: Alexander Schreiner - organist at Mormon Tabernacle

1947: Flor Peeters - Belgian organist and composer - attendance: "small group"

1949: E Power Biggs - attendance: 1000

1952: Richard Ellsasser - organist at Wiltshire Methodist Church, Los Angeles

1953: Virgil Fox - RCA recording artist - attendance:  400

1954: Fernando Germani - organist at St Peter's in Rome 

(Information collected from local Evansville newspaper archives by Evansville A.G.O. chapter member Matt Kincaid.)

In March 1961, at one of the first meetings of the newly-formed Evansville Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, chapter secretary Clifford Kincaid gave a presentation on the history of the coliseum organ.

After the city built the Vanderburgh Auditorium in the 1960s, the coliseum was no longer used as a major concert venue.  Around the same time the University of Evansville had new organs installed on campus for teaching and recitals.  The organ at the coliseum fell into disuse and disrepair.  Over the years, local organ enthusiasts including Garland Mullen, Jeff Lyons and Kurt von Shekel donated many hours of labor trying to keep the organ in playable condition, but the financial support needed for a proper restoration of the instrument was never forthcoming. 

In 2005 Dr. Douglas Reed, professor of organ at the University of Evansville and then Dean of the Evansville A.G.O. chapter, worked with the University of Evansville Student A.G.O. chapter and the city A.G.O. chapter to organize a series of annual concerts to help restore interest in the coliseum organ and in the legacy of Mr. Tinker.

By 2012 the condition and security of the Moller organ in the coliseum had deteriorated to the point that those responsible for the coliseum agreed that the instrument should be removed.  The University of Evansville, after discussions with city, county and coliseum officials, approved the fundraising for a project to remove salvageable portions of the organ from the coliseum and store them. The idea of re-purposing some portions of the organ in a new organ in a renovated and possibly expanded Neu Chapel was discussed. A campaign to raise $20,000 for the removal and storage of portions of the organ was initiated through the university's Office of Institutional Advancement in the fall of 2012. The Evansville Chapter of the American Guild of Organist donated $10,000 toward this project, and the U.E. Student Chapter pledged $5,000. Part of these funds were used for the construction of wooden trays for the storage of organ pipes. A professional organ builder was hired to help remove the pipes and pack them in the trays. In early September of 2013, students, staff and friends of the university and the local A.G.O. chapters helped carry the pipe trays, the larger pipes, the console and the player unit case from the coliseum and loaded them on trailers for transporting. Three of the largest wooden pipes, windchests, blowers and other components of the organ were left behind due to space limitations or difficulty in removal. Storage space for the organ pipes and other components that were removed was generously donated by a supporter of the university.

After several years it became clear that the stored portions of the organ would not be used in an organ project at the University of Evansville. In 2019, the Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners, which manages the coliseum and its contents, made arrangements for the stored portions of the organ to be returned to the coliseum until a decision could made on what to do with them. Some of our Evansville A.G.O. chapter members played roles in renewed conversations by the County Commissioners regarding options for the future of the stored portions of the organ as well as the windchests and other components that had been left in the coliseum chambers in 2013. Restoring the organ for use within the coliseum was one option discussed in early 2024, but the cost was determined to be prohibitive and that option was dropped from consideration.

In March of 2024 the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, just north of Philadelphia, agreed to acquire some of the remaining portions of the Tinker Organ, including the organ pipes and console, envisioning their use in a future organ project as part of the ongoing restoration of the historic Lynnewood Hall. The Mission of the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation includes "educational and cultural engagement by honoring history and artisan craft" and using the Lynnewood Hall estate as "a stage for arts education, literary excellence, musical entertainment, and general cultural engagement through the pursuit of knowledge."* This was seen to be a fitting project for a continuation of the legacy of the Milton Z. Tinker Memorial Organ.

In those early months of 2024 the largest wooden pipes which had been left behind in the previous move were cut in half so that they could be removed from the organ chambers in the coliseum. An Evansville A.G.O. member worked to remove rackboards from the windchests so the rackboards could be included among the preserved items. In April 2024 people involved in the Lynnewood project in Pennsylvania were seeking funding and volunteers to help with removing portions of the organ from the Evansville coliseum, and a couple of members of the Evansville A.G.O. chapter donated money to this final removal phase of the project. In May of 2024 six Evansville A.G.O. chapter members assisted those who had driven from Pennsylvania to load organ components onto large trucks. All of the pipe trays, the console, the harp, many single wooden pipes, rack-boards, some offset chests and other miscellaneous items were taken to Pennsylvania.

Photos of the console and pipes in storage at Lynnewood Hall are available at abandonedonline.net/lynnewood-hall-a-photographers-tribute-to-a-last-gilded-age-masterpiece/#jp-carousel-107696 and also at www.flickr.com/photos/greggobst/54164809472/ .

-Compiled for this Evansville A.G.O. webpage, in part from the sources listed below, by webmaster Neal Biggers. (Updated May 2024)




Sources:

Heading photos and information from the University of Evansville Organ Studio website:
https://web.archive.org/web/20170618133029/http://faculty.evansville.edu/dr5/history.htm  
https://web.archive.org/web/20171224230035/http://faculty.evansville.edu/dr5/Photos%20-%20Page%201.html  

Stoplist and information from The American Municipal Organ Website:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150216113450/http://www.municipalorgans.net/?p=177 

Article in the Evansville Courier dated July 13, 1919.  This article was found in the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library in 2015 during research by Carolyn Ann Howard for her book on the history of Evansville from 1915 to 1920.  Saved pdf of the Courier article.

Article in the Evansville Courier & Press by Roger McBain, March 4, 2005
interviewing Dr. Douglas Reed, available at Encyclopedia.com:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-14171916.html

Article in AceNotes Today, Nov. 6, 2006, University of Evansville:
http://acelink.evansville.edu/AceNotes/Publications/20061106151457.htm 

Article and video report on 14 News, by Robinson Miles and Jill Lyman and featuring Jeff Lyons, March 6, 2024:
https://www.14news.com/2024/03/06/live-historic-organ-veterans-memorial-coliseum-be-removed/

Article on www.tristatehomepage.com on the cost of "repairing" the organ with background information, by Jana Garrett, dated March 15, 2024
www.tristatehomepage.com/news/local-news/vanderburgh-county/evansville-news/why-is-the-veterans-memorial-coliseum-organ-so-costly-to-repair/

Article in the Evansville Courier & Press by Thomas B. Langhorne, dated March 22, 2024:
https://www.courierpress.com/story/news/local/2024/03/22/evansvilles-historic-tinker-organ-going-to-pennsylvania-nonprofit/73058248007/

Document: Vanderburgh County Commissioners Announce New Home for Milton Z. Tinker Organ. Accessed at https://www.evansvillegov.org/egov/documents/1711030237_11972.pdf . Link to saved PDF document.

*Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation, Inc. website: lynnewoodhallpreservation.org

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