As the first organ in the small frontier town of San Diego, the instrument rounded the legendary Cape Horn on its voyage from Boston, Massachusetts. The organ was first heard on a brisk Easter morning in 1887 at a small Episcopal Church located in what was then called “New Town” (today’s downtown). Since that day, like the city itself, the organ has been augmented and expanded as the needs of the
congregation and city grew. In 1915 and again in 1953 additional ranks were added, but the major part of the current organ was built by the Æolian-Skinner Organ Co. In the 1980’s, efforts were made to bring the instrument to a more complete status from these prior expansions. Most recently, the organ was completely rebuilt by “Quimby Pipe Organs” in 2012. It currently contains nearly 5,000 pipes and is considered one of the finest and more notable instruments in the United States. Visit St. Paul’s YouTube page to the organ in action (see our Organ Recitals playlist): youtube.com/StPaulsCathedralSD
