The Lustrous History of Steinway Hall + See Progress on its Supertall Annex, 111 West 57th

JDS Development Group and Property Market Group’s supertall tower at 111 West 57th Street will stand adjacent to Warren & Wetmore’s landmarked Steinway Hall. The developers of the skyscraper are restoring the neighboring 10-story Steinway Hall with a revival of its limestone façade. Designed in 1925, Steinway Hall carries a rich history. It begins with Heinrich E. Steinweg Sr., the owner of an instrument and piano shop in Germany. His son Charles moved to New York in 1849 and founded Steinway and Sons, a piano manufacturing firm located at 85 Varick Street. With the opening of Carnegie Hall in 1891, Central Park south became a hub for leading musical centers, and the firm set out to build a structure on 57th Street. They hired Warren and Wetmore, the architecture firm that designed Grand Central Station. The result was a beautiful neo-classical tower with a limestone facade, today known and landmarked as Steinway Hall. In 2013, Steinway transferred its lease to JDS, and the piano firm relocated to 1133 Sixth Avenue in 2016. JDS has since initiated a project on the site, using the air rights from Steinway Hall to accommodate a neighboring tower featuring a curtain of glass, terra cotta, and bronze filigree. Together, the tower and newly refurbished Steinway Hall will become one of New York City’s iconic pairings of old and new.

By Katy Cornell
June 5, 2018
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