At the time it was built for the dedication of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in 1959, it was the largest organ in the United States, and it still remains the largest pipe organ in Maryland.
It's actually two organs, the main one being located in the Gallery. The other is in the back of the sanctuary to the right of the altar. They are two separate organs and can be played independently, at the same time, or one person can play both organs from either console.
The main organ in the Gallery has four manuals (keyboards on the console) and 100 ranks (rows or sets) of pipes, and a total of 5,625 pipes.
The pipes, all crafted by hand, range in size from the dimensions of a lead pencil to a height of 32 feet.
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The smaller organ in the sanctuary, which contains 27 ranks, has 1,606 pipes behind the golden grills, for a combined total of 7,231 pipes.
The organ's sound comes from pumping massive amounts of air through certain pipes, with pipe "stops" preventing the air from going through others.
People have come from all over the world to play this instrument because of its greatness and the acoustics of the Cathedral.
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