Spreckels Organ

The Spreckels Organ is a pipe organ that was designed by Ernest M. Skinner and was installed in 1924 at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor museum (often referred to as the "Legion of Honor") in San Francisco, California. Public performances are held on Saturdays and Sundays at 4 pm.

The organ was commissioned by John D. Spreckels. Placed on the right side of the console is a plaque that reads: "John D. Spreckels has generously given the organ in this temple for the pleasure of those who, like himself, are lovers of music AD MCMXXIV." Spreckels donated the organ as a tribute to his brother Adolph, who was dying from syphilis. Adolph died before it was completed.

The organ is located in the Rodin gallery of the museum. The organ is built to blend into the museum's structure, and the 4500 pipes are not visible to visitors. The ceiling of the gallery is canvas, painted in a trompe-l'œil style to resemble a marble apse, so that the organ can be heard throughout the gallery and museum.

In tune with the overall majesty of the Legion of Honor, the organ features the use of rare woods incorporated into the working designs: ebony, mahogany, walnut and the use of ivory keys and stops, and three high pressure wind turbines totaling power of 48 horsepower (36 kW) to provide the main wind supply for the organ's pipes and pneumatic system. Boasting additional assets of pneumatically operated percussion instruments, a thunder pedal, a set of large tubular chimes, and the final cost of over $110,000.00 a scarce six years before the dawn of the Great Depression, the allotment for this instrument was seen as the last word in modern entertainment.

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