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Steinway Hall (New York City, New York)

USA / New Jersey / West New York / New York City, New York / West 57th Street, 109-111
 office building, interior, interesting place, historic landmark, commercial building

166-foot, 16-story Neo-Classical office building completed in 1925. Designed by Warren & Wetmore with murals painted by Paul Arndt. The interior was designed by Walter L. Hopkins of the Warren & Wetmore firm and decorated by Cooper & Gentiluomo (some of the fixtures were reportedly antiques imported from Europe). Some of the lights were fabricated by Mitchell Vance Co. The building served as the piano manufacturer’s home base until 2014, when the company moved to make way for construction of an adjoining supertall tower at 111 West 57th. The design integrated Steinway Hall into the new skyscraper, serving as an entry point for residents. The Steinway company has moved south to 43rd Street.

The first Steinwall Hall in New York opened in 1864 on East 14th Street, with elegant showrooms housing over 100 Steinway & Sons pianos. Two years later, a 2,000-seat concert hall was added behind the showrooms. The first Steinway Hall was also the home for the New York Philharmonic for 25 years, from 1866 to 1891, until Carnegie Hall was opened in 1891. The new Steinway Hall opened on January 11, 1925, at 109-111 West 57th Street. The New Steinway Hall also introduced its own recording studio and technical equipment to broadcast classical music over the radio. The Manhattan Life Insurance Co. owned the building from 1958 to 1980, and was headquartered here until recently, while Steinway still leased space.

The building is L-shaped in plan, with a front portion clad in Indiana limestone that terminates in a set back, 4-story colonnaded tower, and a central campanile-like tower with a steep pyramidal roof and large lantern. The main facade's base is embellished by a music-themed sculptural group by Leo Lentelli and by a frieze with medallion portraits of distinguished classical composer-pianists.

On 57th Street the 3-story base consists of a large amount of smooth limestone ashlar wall, above a polished pink granite watertable, pierced by three openings. A large central multi-pane showcase window, with historic bronze framing and convex bottom portion (a later alteration), is flanked by Ionic columns and is surmounted by an entablature, set within a surround with pilasters supporting a molded round arch. At the base of the window is a brass plaque with the inscription "Steinway & Sons Pianos." Within the round arch is a sculptural group by Leo Lentelli, executed in cement, depicting the Muse of Music placing a laurel wreath upon the head of Apollo, flanked by a mask and an infant. The two flanking entrances have molded surrounds with entablatures and lead to semi-circular vestibules through large doors. The eastern vestibule has a step and floor of polished pink granite; limestone pilasters, cornice, two decorative panels with festoons and musical instruments, a molded entrance surround similar to that on the exterior facade, and a coffered domed ceiling; double brass and glass doors and multi-pane transom, set within an historic enframement; a bronze plaque with the inscription "ERECTED A.D. 1925"; and the letters "Steinway & Sons." The western vestibule has a floor of polished pink granite, with a corner section with black-and-white-checkerboard pattern terrazzo; limestone cornice, molded entrance surround similar to that on the exterior facade, and coffered domed ceiling; double painted wooden and glass doors set within an historic enframement.

The base is capped by a frieze bearing laurel festoons and medallions with portraits of distinguished classical composer-pianists (Brahms, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, and Grieg) flanking a central plaque originally bearing the name "STEINWAY" (later "FOUNDED 1850" (Manhattan Life), then "THE ECONOMIST'', and now again "STEINWAY"), capped by a projecting band course ornamented by a Greek fret motif.

The midsection is comprised of the 4th-12th floors. It has three bays of paired windows and is terminated by a decorative band course and a balustrade/parapet ornamented with three large cast-stone urns. There are also urns at the northeast and northwest comers of the same floor. The upper western side elevation is also pierced by windows.

The 3-story main portion of the crowning tower is ornamented with 2-story Ionic colonnades on the front and side facades, with spandrel panels bearing medallions, that support entablatures. The 15th floor is terminated by parapets. The set-back 16th-floor penthouse has round-arches with keystones on the front and side facades, within which are doors and multi-pane fanlights (a large metal vent obscures those on the 57th Street facade), and a hipped roof covered with standing-seam copper, with a cornice decorated with anthemia and cresting along the ridge. An angled chimney rises from the southeast corner, anchored by a flying buttress.

On 58th Street the 2-story base is clad in rusticated limestone above a polished pink granite watertable. At each end is a large rectangular loading bay with a metal enframement and roll-down metal door. The western loading bay is flanked by entrances. The base is capped by a balustrade supported by seven foliate corbel brackets and ornamented with four cast-stone urns.

The midsection is comprised of the 3rd-12th floors. Clad in tan brick with tan terra-cotta spandrel panels on the three central bays, the midsection has triple window groups (those on the 3rd floor are taller) and sets back above the 9th & 12th floors. A molded cornice caps the 9th floor, and a decorative band course and balustrade/parapet, with four large cast-stone urns, cap the 12th. The upper (13th-15th) floors along 58th Street are ornamented with Ionic pilasters supporting an entablature. On the roof terrace, behind parapets, are an air-conditioning condensor and an original brick-clad bulkhead structure.

Terminating the center of the building is a campanile-like mechanical/tank tower ornamented with band courses at the base, glazed-brick corner piers, shallow blind arches (with central rectangular grilles) that are surmounted by oculi with multi-pane tilt windows, and a modillioned cornice with rosettes. The tower has a steep pyramidal roof covered with standing-seam copper and a large copper lantern with a bracketed balustrade, columns supporting a cornice, open latticework, and a steel stack.

In the 2010's, the rotunda was restored by John Canning & Co.

s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2100.pdf
s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2551.pdf
www.nytimes.com/2016/01/26/nyregion/unearthing-the-past...
www.cb5.org/cb5m/resolutions/2013-july/109-113_west_57t...
www.architecturalrecord.com/ext/resources/archives/back...
webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/images/item.htm?id=http://purl...
usmodernist.org/TARCH/ARCH-03.pdf
www.architecturaldigest.com/story/the-rotunda-at-manhat...
johncanningco.com/portfolio/old-steinway/
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   40°45'53"N   73°58'39"W
This article was last modified 7 days ago