The Top 20  -  The World's Largest Pipe Organs          

Exclusive list of fully-playable organs, ranked by total number of wind-blown pipes*, verified as of , by Sacred Classics

ORGAN VENUE	BUILDER and YEAR *	CITY - COUNTRY	MANUALS – RANKS – NUMBER OF PIPES *
(1)  Macy's Department Store	John D. Wanamaker 1911	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA	6 manuals–466 ranks–28,765 pipes
(2)  Cadet Chapel, U.S. Military Academy	M. P. Möeller 1911	West Point, NY  USA	4 manuals-380 ranks-23,236 pipes
(3)  First Congregational Church	E. M. Skinner 1932	Los Angeles, California USA	5 manuals-346 ranks-20,417 pipes
(4)  Cathedral of St. Stephen	Steinmeyer 1928	Passau, Germany	5 manuals-333 ranks-17,974 pipes
(5)  Crystal Cathedral	ÆolianSkinner/ Ruffati 1980	Garden Grove, California USA	5 manuals-273 ranks-15,948 pipes
(6)  National Auditorium	Tamburini 1957	Mexico City, Mexico	5 manuals-250 ranks-15,633 pipes
(7)  Milan Cathedral	Tamburini 1937	Milan, Italy	5 manuals-255 ranks-15,350 pipes
(8)  St. Matthew Lutheran Church	Austin 1925	Hanover, Pennsylvania USA	4 manuals-231 ranks-14,341 pipes
(9)  The First Church of Christ, Scientist	Æolian-Skinner 1952	Boston, Mass. USA	4 manuals-238 ranks-13,290 pipes
(10)  Woolsey Hall, Yale University	E. M. Skinner 1928	New Haven, Conn. USA	4 manuals-197 ranks-12,617 pipes
(11)  Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta	Tamburini 1930	Messina, Italy	5 manuals-205 ranks-12,505 pipes
(12)  St. Bartholomew's Church	E. M. Skinner 1917	New York, NY  USA	5 manuals-225 ranks-12,422 pipes
(13)  St. Giovanni Bosco Church	Tamburini 1948	Bologna, Italy	5 manuals-216 ranks-12,278 pipes
(14)  St. Lorenz Church	Steinmeyer 1937	Nüremberg, Germany	5 manuals-227 ranks-12,184 pipes
(15)  Riverside Church	Hook & Hastings 1930	New York, NY  USA	5 manuals-208 ranks-12,076 pipes
(16)  Mormon Tabernacle	Æolian-Skinner 1945	Salt Lake City, Utah USA	5 manuals-206 ranks-11,623 pipes
(17) Ocean Grove Auditorium	Robert Hope-Jones 1908	Ocean Grove, NJ USA	5 manuals-189 ranks-11,558 pipes
(18)  Calvary Church	M. P. Möeller 1990	Charlotte, N. Carolina USA	5 manuals-205 ranks-11,499 pipes
(19) Cathedral of Saints Peter and Mary	Klais 1948	Cologne, Germany	4 manuals-197 ranks-10,952 pipes
(20)  Cathedral of St. Liborius	Sauer 1981	Paderborn, Germany	4 manuals-201 ranks-10,885 pipes

    *Notes:  Unlike other listings ordered by number of ranks or "stops", we count only genuine speaking pipes. Listings by ranks are not as reflective of an organ's true size, as some ranks may be of small compass (i.e., having fewer than 61 pipes per rank). For example, a 16' string rank may just extend to Tenor C, not Low C.  Also, our list does not count "digital" (i.e., electronic) "ranks" — thus, the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel's 268-rank organ having 110 genuine pipe ranks is not among the largest pipe organs listed here.

 The largest pipe organ ever built is at Atlantic City (NJ) Boardwalk Hall, having 7 manuals, 33,112 pipes and 447 ranks when completed by Midmer-Losh in 1929 — it is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records and heard here in a recording of J.S. Bach's Toccata in d minor (BWV 565), playing in the background. However, this organ has not been fully playable for many years and its future restoration is uncertain.

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