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Landmarks
109-113 West 57th Street (aka 106-116 West 58th Street), STEINWAY & SONS RECEPTION ROOM & HALLWAY, FIRST FLOOR INTERIOR, proposed Designation
At the scheduled monthly meeting of Community Board Five on Thursday, July 11, 2013, the Board passed the following resolution by a vote of 38 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, The exterior of Steinway Hall 109-113 West 57th Street (aka 106-116 West 58th Street) was Designated a New York City Landmark November 13, 2001 (see LPC Designation Report: http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/2001-SteinwayHall.pdf for a complete history of the Steinway company and a description of the building); and
WHEREAS, LPC is now proposing that the Steinway & Sons Reception Room and Hallway, first floor Interior also be Designated; and
WHEREAS, Commissioned by the prominent New York City piano manufacturer, Steinway & Sons in 1924-25, the Steinway & Sons Reception Room is one of New York City's most impressive neo-
Renaissance style interiors; and
WHEREAS, This Room and the adjacent areas were designed by the architects, Warren & Wetmore, who also designed Grand Central Terminal and other prominent NYC Landmarks; and
WHEREAS, The primary space is a double-height octagonal rotunda where customers meet store representatives before entering various piano showrooms; and
WHEREAS, The Room is visible from the street through an arched display window and from the adjoining hallway that leads to the building's elevator lobby; and
WHEREAS, This lavishly-decorated room has a domed ceiling with allegorical murals in the style of the celebrated Swiss-Austrian painter Angelika Kauffman, as well as a crystal chandelier; and
WHEREAS, Walter L. Hopkins, of the architectural firm Warren & Wetmore, planned the building and its interiors, working with the decorative painters Paul Arndt and Cooper & Gentiluomo; and
WHEREAS, Visitors enter from a separate entrance on the east side of the 57th Street facade, passing through a small foyer that mirrors the adjacent hallway; each of the four main walls has a large white marble arch that rests on fluted Iconic columns, as well as green marble pilasters; though a glass door and glazed infill divides the rotunda from the adjacent hallway, these rooms read as one continuous space due to the use of similar architectural elements and materials; and
WHEREAS, At the time of completion, these first floor interiors garnered considerable attention in the press, appearing in the pages of the Architectural Record, Architecture & Building magazine, and The Music Trade Review; and
WHEREAS, This interior space remains a timeless monument to classical music and architecture, as well as to Steinway & Sons, and is considered one of the handsomest retail spaces in New York City; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the Landmark Designation of Steinway and Sons reception room & hallway, first floor interior, 109-113 West 57th Street (aka 106-116 West 58th Street), Manhattan, first floor interior consisting of the Steinway & Sons Reception Room, including the domed rotunda and mezzanine, the east foyer and stairs leading to the mezzanine; the hallway of the public corridor, up to the north glass doors, that adjoins the Reception Room; and the fixtures and components of these spaces, including but not limited to, wall and ceiling surfaces, floor surfaces, ceiling murals, arches, pilasters, stairs, landings, decorative medallions, metal railings, metal grilles, chandeliers and lighting fixtures, door enframents, doors and windows, and attached furnishings and decorative elements.