Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 1757
 
Today we have a photograph of organ pipes at the Skinner Organ factory.
In 1914 the Skinner Organ Factory company moved into a new factory building in Dorchester at Crescent Avenue and Sydney Streets. The building still stands in part on Sydney Street—part of it was demolished to create the ramp from Columbia Road to the southbound side of the Southeast Expressway.
Ernest M. Skinner was the most prominent organ builder of the early 20th century who believed an organ should be able to play all music effectively and with infinite tonal variety. His organs were highly orchestral in character. The succeeding generation rejected his “all-purpose” organ and insisted upon absolute authenticity in the performance of early music. Many of his organs were rebuilt by them to satisfy this change in opinion. There is, however, a renewed interest in the Skinner organ in more recent years. The pinnacle of Skinner’s career may have been the installation of one of his organs in the Washington National Cathedral.
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