St. Luke's Methodist Oklahoma City Aeolian-Skinner 1958

[NYCFarmboy]

From a 1958 Aeolian Skinner ad:

Any word on whether this organ is still there? condition? would appreciate a update on this interesting installation!

[Guest]

Re: St. Luke's Methodist Oklahoma City Aeolian-Skinner 1958

Hey John!

I lived in OKC in the late 70's- early 80's, and at that time, it was still there.
Strange, isn't it? The sad part is, even though it's a large instrument, it is installed in a horrible room. There is upholstered theatre-style seating throughout, plus carpeting and an absorbent ceiling, and the room is one of the deadest I have ever encountered. So much so, that the chuch installed a reverb device to "add" reverberation to the room. It sounded like you were speaking/playing into a box full of springs. The organ was miked, fed thru the reverb, then reintroduced in the room. The "Wizard of Oz" decor also left me cold. Shouldn't there be a big head projected onto the drapery with fire pots on either side? That would make it complete!

St. Luke's is near downtown OKC, not far from the Murrah Building, which Tim McVeigh bombed back in the 90's. Although a couple of churches suffered significant damage, I feel that this one was far enough away, and buffered by other building enough, that it probably survived. First Methodist, directly across the street from the Murrah Bldg., and St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral one block away(where I sang in the choir), were not so lucky. ALL of 1st Meth's windows were completely blown out, and The Aeolian-Skinner at St Paul's was rendered unusable by the blast and replaced with a new Buzard (which is a wonderful instrument!).

[NYCFarmboy]

Re: St. Luke's Methodist Oklahoma City Aeolian-Skinner 1958

Thanks for that awesome history Dan!

I was curious about this one...all those curtains certainly do make for a Wizard of Oz look! (laughing)

Too bad about the dead acccoustic, but nice to know it still might be around!

[soundboarddude]

Re: St. Luke's Methodist Oklahoma City Aeolian-Skinner 1958

I've e-mailed the church asking for some information on it.

Hopefully we'll get a response

:)

[Organpiper61]

I went to www.stlukesokc.org website and viewed a complete service on 29 April 2012. It appears that the organ is still there and looks like the one I remembered when I was 12 years old. I don't remember the sound or quality as you mentioned. I hope this helps you in your questions about the organ.