Picture this a grand Italianate villa perched atop a hill. This is the Steinway Mansion a true Astoria treasure. Built in 1858 for Benjamin Pike Jr a manufacturer of scientific instruments the mansion was originally a 27-room summer home. It boasted 70 acres of land and 4000 feet of waterfront on the Long Island Sound.
The Steinway Mansion wasn’t always Steinway’s though. After Pike’s death his widow sold it to William Steinway of Steinway & Sons in 1870. Steinway’s move to Queens was driven by labor unrest and the violence of the New York City draft riots. He expanded his property to a massive 440 acres building the Steinway Piano Factory and Steinway Village a self-sufficient company town to support his business. Imagine a company town with housing a church a library and even a kindergarten. A public trolley line connected the area to the rest of Queens. Parts of Steinway’s land became the North Beach Amusement Park later LaGuardia Airport.
The Steinway family’s ownership ended in 1926 when Jack Halberian an Armenian-Turkish immigrant bought the mansion. He faced a huge challenge The Steinway factory had supplied the mansion with electricity and water. With the Steinways gone these services stopped. Halberian had to make major upgrades and renovations nearly bankrupting himself in the process. He installed new water lines and persuaded Con Edison to extend power lines.
During the Great Depression a Greek primate offered Halberian $75000 for the house. He wanted to turn it into an orphanage. Halberian refused despite his financial struggles. To raise money he converted the mansion into a four-family home. The Halberians lived in one section while other families rented the rest. His son Michael inherited the property. Michael undertook extensive renovations adding a motorized chandelier jacuzzi steam room and sauna to the basement. He even bought and restored six mahogany booths from an old English pub. Mayor Ed Koch tried to buy the booths but Halberian refused.
The Steinway Mansion became a New York City landmark in 1966 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Even though it’s called the Steinway Mansion Henry Z Steinway noted that the Halberians owned it longer than the Steinways. After Michael Halberian’s death in 2010 the mansion was sold in 2014 for $2.6 million. The new owners began a restoration project reconstructing the grand balcony and adding a Steinway piano and original Pike scientific instruments. This grand mansion continues to stand as a testament to the families who shaped its history. Its Italianate style granite and bluestone construction is breathtaking. The four-story tower the three porches with cast iron Corinthian columns and the five Italian marble fireplaces are just some of its many remarkable features. It truly is a glimpse into a bygone era.