The first thing you notice when entering the main concert hall in Mechanics Hall is the gleaming pipes of the massive organ dominating the stage. It’s almost impossible to take your eyes off this impressive instrument, with its Corinthian-style columns and sumptuous decorative moldings that reach to the ceiling. Flanking the organ on both sides, life-size portraits of two great American presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, further anchor it as the Great Hall’s stunning focal point.

Impressive to look at and thrilling to listen to, the organ has been a musical attraction for Worcester—and beyond—for nearly 160 years.  In fact, it is known as the “Worcester Organ,” in part because both its construction in 1864 and restoration in 1982 were generously supported by civic leaders and philanthropists, who cared deeply about their city’s cultural enrichment. Over the decades, hundreds of thousands of people over the decades have delighted in its expansive range of tones and instrumental sounds. And not just in Worcester!  As one of the most popular and respected organs in the United States, it has been heard across the country numerous times on National Public Radio, as well as on television and film, and in video recordings.

Building an organ for Worcester

How did Worcester come to acquire this masterpiece—sought after by the world’s most accomplished organists and performers?  We can thank both the Worcester County Mechanics Association and generous 19^th-century Worcester industrialists.  In June of 1863—six years after Mechanics Hall was built by the Association—Worcester industrialist Ichabod Washburn offered to pay $1,000 toward the cost of installing an organ in the Hall (with the stipulation that the Mozart Society, the City Missionary Society, and the Children’s Friend Society could all use the hall at no charge once a year for a concert). Other business leaders stepped up to raise the balance of the $8,000 (about $5 million in today’s dollars) needed to pay for the new organ.

In October of that year, the custom-built instrument, sometimes also referred to as the “Hook Organ,” was installed by renowned Boston organ builders and brothers Elias and George Hook—and its powerful sound heard for the first time in the acoustically perfect Great Hall. Made up of 3,504 pipes and 52-stops, it was the biggest instrument the Hook Brothers—considered to be among the finest organ builders in the country—had constructed to date. Now it is the oldest unaltered four-keyboard pipe organ in the Western Hemisphere located at its installation site.

Learn more about The Worcester Organ, built by the Hook brothers.