32 
House & Garden 
THE PIPE ORGAN IN THE HOUSE 
While an Insignia of Aristocracy the Pipe Organ 
Can Now Be Built to Suit Homes of Moderate Size 
CHARLES D. ISAACSON 
I HAVE had the privilege of 
writing for House & Gar¬ 
den on several different occasions 
and have referred to the importance 
of the music room as an essential 
part of the modern home—a music 
room that not only contains instru¬ 
ments but puts them to use. I have 
discussed the piano, the harp, the 
instrumental ensembles. I have 
shown how it is possible to retain 
the period atmosphere of the home 
or the room with all instruments 
and especially and particularly 
with the phonograph. 
Now I come to what I consider 
to be the zenith of musical possi¬ 
bilities, the pipe organ. 
I have observed that while the 
piano is found in nearly every 
home of the slightest beauty, the 
{Right) The organ in the resi¬ 
dence of S. Harold Green at New¬ 
ton Center, Mass., is built over 
and back of the fireplace. The 
console is located at the opposite 
end of the room 
pipe organ for obvious reasons is 
limited to the special elect. In the 
residences of such men as Charles 
M. Schwab, George Eastman, the 
late George Wool worth, the pipe 
organ is a living entity in the daily 
routine of life. For Mr. Schwab, 
the organ has become his greatest 
hobby, the opening spirit in the 
great scheme of philanthropy which 
has made Andrew Carnegie’s suc¬ 
cessor a figure of history. Charles 
M. Schwab has learned to play the 
pipe organ himself, and while he 
is very modest as to the quality of 
his performances, his week is nev¬ 
er complete without his day at 
home in which music is the sole 
subject and object of his attention. 
“I would feel lost,” said Mr. 
Schwab to me one day, “if that day 
{Below) The rear wall of the sun 
porch screens the pipes of the or¬ 
gan in R. E. Forrest’s house at 
Rye, N. Y. The large Italian 
living room gives ample space for 
organ sound 
] 
