Culture

Computer desk, steampunk style (photos)

Meet the Victorian Organ Command Desk, a working baroque computer desk made from a demolished church's 19th century organ.

Tim Hornyak

Crave freelancer Tim Hornyak is the author of "Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots." He has been writing about Japanese culture and technology for a decade. E-mail Tim.

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Tim Hornyak

April 14, 2010 5:00 a.m. PT

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Victorian Organ Command Desk

Meet the Victorian Organ Command Desk. Bruce Rosenbaum of Massachusetts home restoration firm ModVic literally pulled out all the stops when he built this baroque computer desk out of a demolished church's 19th century organ. He gutted the pump and innards, replacing them with three monitors, a 3GHz AMD Phenom II X4 945 processor running Windows 7 Ultimate, 3GB of RAM, a 1TB HD, and lots of other goodies including a Webcam, printer, scanner, and iPhone dock. The organ pipes were placed upside-down for effect.

Read more in our related article: "Ornate steampunk computer desk really works"

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Three screens and a keyboard

The Command Desk's desktop is spread across three screens. Two video cards run the video over VGA connectors. The keyboard is a rebuilt Logitech featuring original Royal glass typewriter keys and custom-made brass keys for function commands (the top row, in Roman numerals). A scanner hides beneath the keyboard.

Read more in our related article: "Ornate steampunk computer desk really works"

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Internal organs

Rosenbaum's desk features reproduction cygnet horns fitted with speakers, electric coach lamps, and pipes from a 19th century organ taken from a recently demolished church.

Read more in our related article: "Ornate steampunk computer desk really works"

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Keeping time

The central clock is a Victorian timepiece that's still being refurbished to expose the gears. The six LCD mini-monitors are taken from digital photo frames and run off a USB.

Read more in our related article: "Ornate steampunk computer desk really works"

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That USB glow

This 4GB USB thumb drive inserted in a slot in the burl walnut board was fashioned from old watch parts. It emits a yellow light.

Read more in our related article: "Ornate steampunk computer desk really works"

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Vintage meets modern

This vintage Brownie bellows camera hides a modern-day Microsoft LifeCam Cinema HD (720p). The shutter still works, allowing the lens to be securely obscured for privacy.

Read more in our related article: "Ornate steampunk computer desk really works"

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It has a printer, too

The Command Desk hides a Samsung CLP-310 printer, which gets paper from this loading slot.

Read more in our related article: "Ornate steampunk computer desk really works"

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Antique touches

This carved oak bust looks over an antique crystal doorknob that lights up when a desk switch is activated.

Read more in our related article: "Ornate steampunk computer desk really works"

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Spooky lighting

A pair of old kerosene coach lamps have been converted to electric lighting. They house neon flicker bulbs that provide a somewhat spooky effect. Perfect for the Phantom of the Opera, perhaps.

Read more in our related article: "Ornate steampunk computer desk really works"