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Steinway Mansion
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
New York City Landmark No. 0632
Location	18-33 41st Street, Astoria, Queens, New York 11105
Coordinates	40°46′43.5″N 73°53′49.5″W / 40.778750°N 73.897083°W / 40.778750; -73.897083
Area	less than one acre (4,000 m)
Built	1858
Architectural style	Italianate villa
NRHP reference No.	83001780
NYCL No.	0632
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	September 8, 1983
Designated NYCL	February 15, 1967

The Steinway Mansion (also the Benjamin Pike Jr. House) is at 18-33 41st Street on a quarter-acre hilltop in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens in New York City.

History

The mansion was constructed as a summer home from 1857-1858 at a cost of $85,000 on the Long Island Sound by Benjamin Pike Jr., a Manhattan-based manufacturer of optical and scientific instruments. After Benjamin Pike Jr.'s death in 1864, his widow sold the mansion to William Steinway of Steinway & Sons in 1870. In response to the tenuous labor situation in Manhattan, Steinway expanded his Queens property to a massive 440 acres, upon which he would build the Steinway Piano Factory and what would become Steinway Village and the North Beach Amusement Park at Bowery Bay Beach. This area would eventually transform into LaGuardia Airport.

Jack Halberian, an Armenian-Turkish immigrant who came to the United States in 1913, purchased the mansion in 1926, shortly after being put up for sale by the Steinway family. However, due to its isolated location, the mansion's electricity and running water had come from the nearby Steinway factory, and hence, once the Steinways left, said services were cut. This led to a massive financial undertaking during which Halberian installed new water lines and convinced the nearby Con Edison to build new power lines that connected his home to the larger grid. Upon Halberians's death in 1976, his son Michael Halberian inherited the property and began an extensive restoration.

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building as a landmark in 1966, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Henry Z. Steinway, the last member of the Steinway family to be president of the piano company Steinway & Sons, said the "Steinway Mansion" name was misleading, because "the Halberians owned the mansion longer than the Steinways did".

The mansion was placed for sale after Michael Halberian's death in 2010. The Friends of Steinway Mansion attempted unsuccessfully to raise $5 million and acquire the house. After years on the market, as well as numerous price reductions, Sal Lucchese and Phil Loria paid $2.6 million for the property in 2014. Parts of the surrounding land were then developed into commercial warehouses, leaving the mansion on a quarter acre of property. The nearly 150-year-old mansion was deteriorating quickly, so the mansion's owners began a massive restoration that included the reconstruction of the mansion's grand balcony. In addition, to pay homage to both the Pike and Steinway families, the mansion was decorated with a grand Steinway piano and numerous original scientific instruments manufactured by the Pike company.

Description

The Steinway Mansion is a large Italianate Villa-style dwelling. The architect is unknown. It is constructed of granite and bluestone with cast iron ornamentation and has a two-story, T-shaped central section gable roof. It has a one-story library, that is now an office, with a wing with large bay windows. It features a four-story tower topped by a balustrade and octagonal cupola. There are three porches supported by cast iron Corinthian order columns. There are five Italian marble fireplaces and pocket doors that hold original cut glass depicting many of Pike's 19th-century scientific instruments. The center main hall contains elaborately carved walnut balustrades, a two-story domed rotunda topped with a central stained glass skylight, 12-foot (3.7 m) ceilings throughout. There are three large underground cisterns designed to collect rainwater from the roof for grounds irrigation and a 1000-gallon (3,800 L) copper tank in the attic to furnish the house with a pressurized water system for bath and kitchen use.

In 2006, a documentary film titled The Steinway Mansion was produced and includes extensive interviews with Michael Halberian and Henry Z. Steinway and many rare photos.

See also

• List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Queens
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Queens
• Modern Art Foundry

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. ^ The Steinway Mansion, documentary by James Sabastian on YouTube
3. Larry E. Gobrecht (n.d.). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Steinway House". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2011.
4. "Accompanying six photos". Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
5. ^ Barron, James (February 8, 2011). "Uncertain Coda for Mansion With a Musical Heritage". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
6. "Live In The Steinway Mansion For $2.5M". NBC New York. October 7, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
7. TimesLedger, QNS (May 14, 2015). "Construction plans for Steinway Mansion site worries preservationist – QNS". QNS. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
8. Polsky, Sara (April 18, 2013). "Astoria's Unsold Steinway Mansion Cuts Price – And Size". Curbed NY. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
9. Evelly, Jeanmarie (May 6, 2014). "Astoria's Historic Steinway Mansion Sells for $2.65M to 'Local Guys'". DNAinfo New York. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
10. Colangelo, Lisa L. (May 6, 2014). "Exclusive: Mystery duo purchases historic Steinway Mansion for $2.6 million". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
11. Matua, Angela (March 2, 2016). "Historic Steinway Mansion in Astoria is now surrounded by commercial buildings – QNS". QNS. Retrieved July 7, 2024.

External links

• Media related to Steinway Mansion at Wikimedia Commons
• Jason D. Antos (October 13, 2010). "Astoria Residents Tour Steinway Mansion". Queens Gazette.
• Raymond Hernandez (May 15, 1993). "A Mansion of Dreams Awakes in Urban Peril". The New York Times.
• Barron, James (February 8, 2011). "Uncertain Coda for Mansion With a Musical Heritage". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
• Steinway House (PDF) (Report). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. December 27, 1966.

Links to related articles

v t e Astoria Queens, New York City Parks Astoria Park Socrates Sculpture Park Education Frank Sinatra School of the Arts Saint Demetrios Astoria School St. John's Preparatory School Culture and religion Astoria Center of Israel First Reformed Church of Astoria Greater Astoria Historical Society Kaufman Astoria Studios Modern Art Foundry Museum of the Moving Image Noguchi Museum Trinity Lutheran Church Other buildings Bohemian Citizens' Benevolent Society Norwood Gardens Sohmer and Company Piano Factory Steinway Mansion Stevens House Transportation Subway stations 30th Avenue 36th Avenue 46th Street Astoria Boulevard Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard Broadway Steinway Street Roads and streets Astoria Boulevard Steinway Street Geographical features Berrien's Island Bowery Bay Sunswick Creek See also: Queens Community Board 1 v t e Steinway & Sons People C.F. Theodore Steinway Henry E. Steinway (founder) Henry Z. Steinway Theodore E. Steinway William Steinway Related places and things Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 Pianomania Steinway D-274 Steinway Hall Steinway Lyngdorf Steinway Mansion Steinway Musical Instruments Steinway Vertegrand Eponymous places and things Steinway Lo-V Steinway Street (road) Steinway Street station Steinway Tunnel Category Commons v t e New York City historic sites National Register Manhattan Below 14th St 14th–59th Sts 59th–110th Sts Above 110th St Smaller islands Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Bronx National Historic Landmarks New York City City Landmarks Manhattan Below 14th St 14th–59th Sts 59th–110th Sts Above 110th St Smaller islands Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Bronx Scenic landmarks v t e National Register of Historic Places in Queens, New York Historic districts 68th Avenue–64th Place 75th Avenue–61st Street Broadway–Flushing Central Avenue Central Ridgewood Cooper Avenue Row Cornelia–Putnam Cypress Avenue East Cypress Avenue West Douglaston Hill Douglaston Far Rockaway Beach Bungalow Forest–Norman Fresh Pond–Traffic Grove–Linden–St. John's Hunters Point Jackson Heights Jacob Riis Park Madison–Putnam–60th Place Richmond Hill Seneca Avenue East Seneca–Onderdonk–Woodward Stockholm–DeKalb–Hart Summerfield Street Row Sunnyside Gardens Woodbine–Palmetto–Gates Historic properties Houses Allen-Beville House John Bowne House Ralph Johnson Bunche House Cornelius Van Wyck House King Manor Kingsland Homestead Lent Homestead and Cemetery Louis Armstrong House Queens County Farm Museum Steinway Mansion Vander Ende–Onderdonk House Voelker Orth Museum Religious buildings Astoria Center of Israel Church of the Resurrection The Church-in-the-Gardens First Presbyterian Church of Far Rockaway First Presbyterian Church of Newtown First Reformed Church Free Synagogue of Flushing Grace Episcopal Church Complex Old Quaker Meeting House Protestant Reformed Dutch Church of Flushing Reformed Church of Newtown Rego Park Jewish Center Saint Benedict Joseph Labre Church St. George's Church St. Luke's Episcopal Church St. Matthew's Episcopal Church St. Matthias Roman Catholic Church St. Monica's Church St. James Church Temple of Israel Synagogue Congregation Tifereth Israel Trinity Chapel Trinity Lutheran Church Post offices Far Rockaway Flushing Forest Hills Jackson Heights Jamaica Long Island City Subway stations Court Square–23rd Street station Elmhurst Avenue station Flushing–Main Street station Other structures Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lodge Number 878 Beth Olam Cemetery Bohemian Citizens' Benevolent Society College Point Little League Building Flushing Armory Flushing High School Flushing Meadows Carousel Flushing Town Hall Forest Park Carousel Fort Tilden Fort Totten Fort Totten Officers' Club Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning Jamaica Chamber of Commerce Building Jamaica Savings Bank Kaufman Astoria Studios J. Kurtz and Sons Store Building La Casina Long Island City Courthouse Long Island Motor Parkway Maple Grove Cemetery Marine Air Terminal New York State Pavilion Old Town of Flushing Burial Ground Parkway Village Poppenhusen Institute Prospect Cemetery PS 66 Queens County Savings Bank Queensboro Bridge RKO Keith's Theater Rockaway Courthouse Sidewalk clock on Jamaica Avenue Sohmer and Company Piano Factory Spear and Company Factory Triboro Hospital for Tuberculosis TWA Flight Center Wyckoff-Snediker Family Cemetery National Historic Landmarks Ralph Johnson Bunche House King Manor Louis Armstrong House Old Quaker Meeting House See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Queens, New York and List of National Historic Landmarks in New York

• Houses completed in 1858
• New York City Designated Landmarks in Queens, New York
• Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Queens, New York
• Italianate architecture in New York City
• Astoria, Queens