News from all over - St. Paul
Hidden in an old converted warehouse in the West Seventh neighborhood is a pipe organ looking for a good home. It has about 900 pipes, a case made of American walnut, an African zebrawood keyboard and a custom-made, adjustable bench.
And if he hadn't wear cloth gloves when he carefully handled the pipes, it would have Timothy Patterson's fingerprints all over it. Patterson built the organ over the course of eight summers and about 5,000 hours of work.
The 53-year-old Minneapolis resident has been building and fixing organs for 33 years, in the United States and Europe. He's worked day jobs ranging from driving taxicabs to doing computer work to make ends meet when the organ business waned.
"It's been a struggle for most of my life," he said.
But his latest project is even more of a labor of love than usual. He built the instrument on speculation, with no actual buyer in mind. He was limited by a budget for materials and the height of the ceiling of his workshop - about 18 feet - but other than that he was free to create his dream organ, an instrument he describes as Gothic in appearance and French in sound.
"It's a classic shape and design," he said. "This is the way the old boys made it."
Source
And if he hadn't wear cloth gloves when he carefully handled the pipes, it would have Timothy Patterson's fingerprints all over it. Patterson built the organ over the course of eight summers and about 5,000 hours of work.
The 53-year-old Minneapolis resident has been building and fixing organs for 33 years, in the United States and Europe. He's worked day jobs ranging from driving taxicabs to doing computer work to make ends meet when the organ business waned.
"It's been a struggle for most of my life," he said.
But his latest project is even more of a labor of love than usual. He built the instrument on speculation, with no actual buyer in mind. He was limited by a budget for materials and the height of the ceiling of his workshop - about 18 feet - but other than that he was free to create his dream organ, an instrument he describes as Gothic in appearance and French in sound.
"It's a classic shape and design," he said. "This is the way the old boys made it."
Source
