Steinway Mansion - Astoria Real Estate

Lincoln Era Mansion & Queens History To Be Sold

Astoria / August 20, 2010 / Queens Buzz. On Wednesday afternoon I set to work on this story after returning from a fascinating four hour visit with Michael Halberian, owner and whose family occupied, the Steinway Mansion for the past 82 years. The mansion is located in Astoria, just north of 19th Avenue on 41st Street [map link provided at end of story].

I felt like I'd stepped through a time warp, back into the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The visit connected me to one of the legendary centerpieces of Queens history - the Steinway family and the mansion they occupied during their golden years ... but the mansion's history neither starts nor ends there.

Michael regaled me with anecdotal tales supported by the many books off his shelves, or by pointing to numerous remnants of the past, kept in pristine shape in this beautiful old Astoria mansion on the hill overlooking the East River.

Click here to read more about the Steinway Mansion For Sale In Astoria Queens.

Who Was Benjamin Pike?

Steinway Mansion Builder Made A Mint

April 17, 2011 / Astoria / History Of Queens / Queens Buzz. I had a rare opportunity to meet someone who was well acquainted with the story of Benjamin Pike Jr. Benjamin Pike Jr. was the man who built the mansion that was lived in for over fifty years by the Steinways of Steinway & Sons Piano in Astoria. During my efforts to report this story, I had here-to-fore found it very difficult to find much published about Benjamin Pike. Hence you can imagine my delight when I met Deborah Jean Warner, who had once curated an exhibit dedicated to the Steinway Mansion founder, at the Smithsonian Institution.

Deborah has curated many exhibits about the history of physical sciences and is the author of several books. Deborah's work in 19th century scientific instruments lead her to curate the Pike exhibit. When it comes to selling scientific instruments in America in the 19th century, Benjamin Pike Jr. was an innovator who loomed large.

Click here next week to read our full report about Benjamin Pike Jr., the founder and owner of the Pike Mansion, which later came to be known as the Steinway Mansion in Astoria.

Michael Halberian: 1927 - 2010

Steinway Mansion Owner Dies

December 30, 2010 / Astoria / Queens Buzz. Michael Halberian, owner of the Steinway Mansion in Astoria, died Monday evening around 7 pm. We have unofficial reports that he died of cardio obstruction pulmonary disorder. Michael turned 83 in November.

Michael is survived by two children, Michele Kazarian and John Halberian [wife Stephanie]; his sister, Rosemary; five grandchildren including Jackie and Katie Kazarian and Christopher, Meg and Jack Halberian; and neices and nephews.

Services will be held at 2 pm at the Armenian Church of the Holy Martyrs in Bayside. The church is located on the corner of Horace Harding Expressway [LIE] and Oceania Boulevard.

Later this weekend we'll post more about the life of Michael Halberian and the historical Steinway Mansion for which he so loved and cared. Michael is shown standing in front of the Steinway Mansion in the photo above circa the 1930's.

Queens History Is New York's History

19th Century Queens Pioneers With Big Ideas

Steinway & Sons Legacy Permeates NYC & Queens

Manhattan NYC & Astoria / December 7, 2010 / Queens Buzz. In our effort to inform Queens Buzz readers about the full historical significance of the Steinway Mansion, we traveled into one of Queens' outerboros: Manhattan.

We visited Steinway Hall, which is located on 57th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, and which is owned by Steinway & Sons pianos - some 85 years later. Once again, I stepped through a time warp, similar to the one into which I stepped when I visited to the Steinway piano factory and more recently the Steinway Mansion, both of which are located in Astoria in Queens.

Steinway Hall was built by Steinway & Sons piano company in 1925, following the erection of Carnegie Hall, which had just supplanted the old Steinway Hall located on 14th Street, as NYC's cultural centerpiece. Click here to read more about Steinway Hall in NYC including numerous photos, or click this link to visit the Steinway Mansion section of Queens Buzz.

Enchanted Evening At The Mansion

Steinway Mansion Strikes Resonant Chord

Astoria / October 20, 2010 / Queens Buzz. It was a cool quiet moonlit evening as I made my way down the lonely street leading up to the Steinway Mansion. As I passed through the century old Italian wrought iron gates, I found white Japanese paper lanterns lit by candles leading into the yard. I followed them around the side of the house, and eventually right up to the front porch. But I couldn't go in, at least not yet.

The mansion looked so serene and quiet, even as over one hundred people enjoyed the cocktail party going on inside. The grey granite exterior soaked in the silvery moonlight, as the white trim glowed luminously. I stood there for a while, just breathing in each moment ... until someone came up behind me and said, "We really should buy this for ourselves." We then laughed, knowing that that would never happen.

But there was a yearning in my heart that the Steinway Mansion would be bought by some level of government, so that I, along with everyone else in Queens, could continue to enjoy this beautiful home, for the rest of our days. It dawned on me later, that perhaps I'd caught the Jack Halberian fever, and fallen in love with a 19th century Queens home and legacy that have no peers.

Click this link to view our report, along with quite a number of photos taken at the cocktail party dedicated to The Save The Steinway Mansion movement.

Mayor Invited To Cocktail Party At Steinway Mansion

Vallone Invites Mayor To Visit Mansion Before Making Decision

October 7, 2010 / Astoria / Queens Buzz. What an evening! It started with an interesting journey through some of the Steinway & Sons history by local historian Bob Singleton and was followed by a rousing speech by City Council Member Peter Vallone. Then the mansion was opened up to some 70 or 80 people who had been invited to ‘Help Save The Steinway Mansion’. The photo to your left shows Peter Vallone and historian Bob Singleton standing on the steps of the Steinway mansion talking to community members who wish to preserve the Steinway mansion.

It's been said that President Grover Cleveland visited this historic treasure in the 1880’s as a guest of Henry Steinway. And Mayor Ed Koch made a visit to the Steinway Mansion as guest of Michael Halberian. Click here to read more about Mayor Bloomberg’s invitation to the Steinway Mansion in Astoria later this month.

Steinway & Sons Piano Factory

Model Business Still Going Strong 100 Years Later

Astoria Queens. While some businesses may be folding, others like the Steinway & Sons Piano Factory in Astoria are still going strong, after over a century in business. In some respects the factory is a sort of living museum, as the piano makers are really craftsmen and artesans, rather than factory workers in a 20th century sense.

So what keeps this pillar in the community going strong after so many years? Its unrelenting commitment to quality and innovation. Click here to read / view the rest of the story about the Steinway & Sons Piano Factory in Astoria Queens NY. In the photo above, the sound board is being fitted into the piano body / casing.