Organ Restoration Updates
This page is dedicated to ongoing updates related to the Organ Restoration project. If you are interested in learning more about the campaign or make a contribution, please visit the Organ Fund Campaign page, or use the button below to contribute. Thank you!
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May 2026
Toeboard
One of the many toeboards that support the pipes and allow wind to blow through them. This particular toeboard holds one rank of pipes on the swell division, the 8' Viola Pomposa. 8' indicates that the lowest pipe of the Viola Pomposa rank is 8 feet tall. #1332 is the opus number of the organ, Swell #2 indicates the Viola Pomposa is the second rank in the swell (there are 12 ranks), and 3" press indicates the pipes are voiced to play under 3 inches of wind pressure. The inscriptions on this toeboard were done at the Aeolian-Skinner organ factory in Boston while the organ was under construction, 1957-1958. All components of the organ were inscribed for reassembly at St. Peter's.
Viola Pomposa
These six pipes of the Viola Pomposa are the longest of the sixty-one pipes that make up this rank. They are being stored in the choir room until the restored swell division is ready to be reassembled.
Pouch Rails
The newly releathered pouch rails of the swell division. These pouches and valves are located directly under each pipe in the organ, causing the pipe to sound or be silent. The original leather was removed and the wood sanded and refinished.
The leather is sheepskin, cut from a large sheet. The process of cutting the leather and placing it on the rails is done entirely by hand at the organ workshop, the Spencer Organ Company in Waltham.