Grace Church was built in 1890-91 on the corner of Elgin and Somerset Streets. In his first report to Vestry in 1891, the rector, Canon Gorman, described his joy at the construction of "this beautiful edifice, equipped with a magnificent organ." The organ, built by the S.R. Warren Organ Company, cost $2,217, for which a loan was taken out; five years later, in 1896, there was a balance of $150 still owing. The organ pipes were located in a chamber off the north side of the chancel, with arched openings into the chancel and into the nave. The console was located in the chancel, directly underneath the façade pipes. The organ had tubular-pneumatic action, meaning that the keys were connected to the valves underneath the pipes by tiny lead tubes. When a key was depressed, the air pressure in the tube dropped, causing the pipe valve to open.
The vestry minutes of 1892 mention the organist, Mr. Rowe; the choirmaster, Mr. Jenkins; and the "late organist", Mr. Colson. Over the next few years, organists were occasionally mentioned by name in the Vestry Reports:
- 1905 - Mr. Roberts
- 1908 - C.C. Hampshire [formerly of St John's, see above]
- 1909 - B.J. Kenyon [for the first time, listed on the front page with the clergy]
- 1910 - Cyril J. Rickwood
- 1912 - J.W.G. Roberts
In 1913, Grace Church merged with the parish of St John the Evangelist, keeping the name of St John's. A portion of the money from the sale of St John's was used to pay off the mortgage on Grace Church.
At a special vestry meeting on February 27, 1922, the congregation agreed to purchase a new three-manual Casavant organ to replace the 30-year-old Warren. Although 30 years is not a long time in the life of an organ, tubular action was notoriously unreliable, and the lead tubes deteriorated rapidly. Also, while the sound of the organ may have been enough for the small congregation of the original church, once the two congregations joined, a larger instrument would have been needed to meet the expanding musical needs of the parish.
The pipes of the new Casavant organ were installed in the same chamber as the Warren, and the console was located in the chancel underneath the façade, as the previous console had been. Choir members watched the organist through a long mirror placed above the organist's head. Later, a separate electro-pneumatic console was built and installed near the present sacristy door, facing the nave.
