Music Trade Review
Issue: 1927 Vol. 84 N. 17 - Page 7
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
New Aeolian Hall
Formally Opens Week of April 25
Modern Display Backgrounds for Piano Are Strikingly and Beautifully
Exemplified in the Fourteen Floors of New Structure at Fifty-fourth
Street and Fifth Avenue, New York, Now Occupied by the Company
C
ONSIDERABLY more than an architec-
tural achievement will be registered on the
public of New York City, when the new
fifteen-story home of the Aeolian Co., located at
the northeast corner of Fifth avenue and Fifty-
fourth street, is formally opened during the week
of April 25. The structure, which is in Italian
renaissance style with a lantern-topped tower,
was designed by the architectural firm of War-
ren & Wetmore, Inc., and was completed dur-
ing the year of 1926. The turning over of the
new Aeolian Hall to the Aeolian Co. was held
on the afternoon of February 23 when execu-
tives of the Aeolian Co. together with the archi-
tects met privately with officials of the City of
New York for the purpose of presenting the
latter with a golden key to the new building.
Since that time the interior appointments of the
entire fifteen stories have been completed, com-
prising a wealth of artistic beauty and the estab-
lishment is now ready for the public.
The new home marks a fitting triumph in the
uptown march of the Aeolian Co. over a period
of forty-nine years. It has proceeded through
six distinct phases, forming stepping-stones of
artistic and commercial progress. From its
foundation in 1878 in a tiny, unpretentious shop
on Fourteenth street, the Aeolian Co. moved
shortly to larger quarters at 831 Broadway and
six years later took over the building at 18
West Twenty-third street, which served as its
headquarters until 1902. The next lap brought
the company to 362 Fifth avenue, where a dec-
ade of further expansion prepared it for the
erection of the splendid seventeen-story build-
ing at 29 West Forty-second street in the heart
of the city's most exclusive shopping district.
•This building, with the celebrated Aeolian con-
cert hall, was a landmark for the past fifteen
years, not the least of the contributing factors
being the immense show window, facing the
busiest sector of Forty-second street, into which
countless thousands gazed daily at the various
Aeolian products on display.
With such a colorful background of close to
half a century, the Aeolian Co. moves into its
new home, which combines all of its past at-
tainments as well as setting new standards of
grandeur for the future! In its interior ap-
pointments, the new Aeolian Hall has been dec-
orated in a manner that achieves beauty and
accuracy of settings for probably the largest
collection of period musical instruments on dis-
play anywhere. The interior decoration has
been done under the direction of W. Zaiser,
official decorator for the company, who inci-
dentally is responsible for the adaptation of
nearly a score of new art cases for the Weber,
Steck and other Aeolian-made pianos, shown
throughout the building.
. To the visitor, inspecting Aeolian Hall for the
first time, there comes a feeling of bewilderment
at the excellence of taste as at the immense-
ness of the undertaking. The treasure marts
of the world literally have been called on to
supply the rich hangings and appointments and
no expense has been spared to create in the
building a superlative background for musical
instruments. While the general plan of archi-
tecture is Louis XVI in character, a variety of
other periods have been interestingly expressed
on the various floors of the establishment.
To begin with, one enters the Louis XVI
reception room on the ground floor, view of
which is offered to both Fifth avenue and
Fifty-fourth, street by huge show windows.
Here, the magnificence of marble pilasters and
coffered ceiling is relieved by a center panel,
soon to be completed, painted by the artist
Regal symbolizing the ninth symphony of Bee-
thoven. Mirrored wall brackets and a rare
crystal chandelier, draperies of damask and
brocade and a tufted carpet of gold lend to the
room a dignity which is truly impressive. Con-
cerning the marble-tiled floor one learns that
the white marble was imported from Belgium
and the black tiles were made from Italian
marble, creating a delightful contrast.
The second floor contains the new Aeolian
auditorium, which has a capacity of one
hundred and sixty persons. Its limited size
provides an air of intimacy, which should prove
a source of satisfaction to both artist and audi-
ence. The concert hall is finished in white and
gold with mulberry hangings and furnishings
of early Georgian design. The miniature stage
is lighted with four crystal chandeliers lending
it a charm which could never be attained in
greater dimensions.
A Steinway Duo-Art and an Aeolian pipe
organ are installed in the auditorium, which has
already been dedicated with several music pro-
grams by well-known artists.
The front of the second floor is known as the
fountain room and is one of the most im-
posing parts in the building. On this floor
yellow is a predominant note, being brought
out by the walls and an indirect flood of light
from a large, overhanging dome above the
small fountain. In the latter is an exquisite
statue of Pan's daughter, set within the play of
streams of water. The floor here is done in
marble similar to the main reception room be-
low it.
On each successive display floor, particular
effort has been made to provide demonstration
rooms in period styles and some unusual con-
trasts are brought out. A charming New Eng-
land pine room on the third floor is one of the
most striking of these, with its walls of paneled
pine, colonial fire-place and hangings, floor and
ceiling in appropriate tone.
Another demonstration room of rare excel-
lence is the Georgian room on the fourth floor.
Rich colonnades and graceful arches, em-
phasized by a color scheme of shell grey and
white, bring out an harmony for the display of
pianos, which would be hard to equal. A red
lacquer room on the second floor, perhaps the
most modern in design of any of the demon-
stration rooms in the building, affords excel-
lent contrast to the other periods on this floor.
Any attempt to do justice to the various
period rooms within the scope of the present
article entails the same difficulties as would the
simplification of an art catalog. To be fully ap-
preciated, the building requires a personal in-
spection, consuming the better portion of an
entire day. There are, however, numerous fea-
tures in addition to the period display rooms,
which stand out by themselves.
One of these is the dealers' club room on
the seventh floor of the building, adjoining the
offices of the wholesale department. This room
is done in the early American manner, of a
period antedating the early American pine room
on the third floor by about sixty years. Pine
paneling, fireplace, shaded candle-brackets on
the walls and many of the other characteristics
of the period are found here as well, providing
one of the most restful chambers of the build-
ing. This room is designed particularly to add
to the comfort of the visiting Aeolian repre-
sentative from out of town, while talking over
his problems and requirements with executives
of the wholesale staff. The chamber commands
an excellent view of Fifth avenue with a south-
ern and western exposure and is conducive to
restfulncss, being sound-proof from the bustle.
The executive offices of H. B. Tremaine,
president, together with those of E. S. Votey,
vice-president, and W. H. Alfring, second vice-
president, are located on the top floor of the
building. The separate private rooms of the
official suite are done with paneled walls of
plain plaster, all being in the same manner.
Huge mahogany-topped desks produce an air
of official dignity and simple but tasteful rugs
with the famous AE diphthong of the Aeolian
Co. complete the picture.
Adjoining the official suite is an early E n g -
lish oak room with ceiling of striking geometric
design, characteristic of the period. This room
fronts on the avenue and has access to a bal-
cony leading along the Fifty-fourth street side
past the official suite and commanding the best
view of the city from the entire building. The
purpose of the room is to provide an ante-
chamber for the executives.
Elaborateness of decoration is carried out
even to the elevators which carry visitors to the
various floors of the building. The walls are
in patterns of some fifteen or twenty rare woods
inlaid in delicate design. Most of the woods
are South American, such as pearwood, apple-
wood, tulipwood and satinwood. The ensemble
has a satin finish bringing out the natural
figure of the woods in beautiful style.
The building also has another set of com-
mercial elevators at its rear, which give access
to the business offices on the upper floors and
are not intended for the use of patrons. An
immense freight elevator, running from the
street level to the spacious basement, has been
designed by E. S. Votey to facilitate the trans-
portation of pianos in and out of the base-
ment by truck.
This elevator is one of the
largest ever made, with a capacity of carrying
the largest vans used in hauling pianos. Trucks
are simply backed into this lift, lowered three
or four feet below the basement so that the
piano boxes may be moved on rollers from the
floor of the van to the basement floor on the
same level.
Nothing" seems to have been overlooked in
constructing the new Aeolian Hall, which com-
bine external grandeur with a world of beauty
in its interior appointments without losing sight
of its aim of being a great commercial enter-
prise. There is no attempt on the part of its de-
signers and decorators to draw the atten-
tion of the visitor to the various artistic
creations embodied in the building.
New Aeolian Hall
Formally Opens Week of April 25
Modern Display Backgrounds for Piano Are Strikingly and Beautifully
Exemplified in the Fourteen Floors of New Structure at Fifty-fourth
Street and Fifth Avenue, New York, Now Occupied by the Company
C
ONSIDERABLY more than an architec-
tural achievement will be registered on the
public of New York City, when the new
fifteen-story home of the Aeolian Co., located at
the northeast corner of Fifth avenue and Fifty-
fourth street, is formally opened during the week
of April 25. The structure, which is in Italian
renaissance style with a lantern-topped tower,
was designed by the architectural firm of War-
ren & Wetmore, Inc., and was completed dur-
ing the year of 1926. The turning over of the
new Aeolian Hall to the Aeolian Co. was held
on the afternoon of February 23 when execu-
tives of the Aeolian Co. together with the archi-
tects met privately with officials of the City of
New York for the purpose of presenting the
latter with a golden key to the new building.
Since that time the interior appointments of the
entire fifteen stories have been completed, com-
prising a wealth of artistic beauty and the estab-
lishment is now ready for the public.
The new home marks a fitting triumph in the
uptown march of the Aeolian Co. over a period
of forty-nine years. It has proceeded through
six distinct phases, forming stepping-stones of
artistic and commercial progress. From its
foundation in 1878 in a tiny, unpretentious shop
on Fourteenth street, the Aeolian Co. moved
shortly to larger quarters at 831 Broadway and
six years later took over the building at 18
West Twenty-third street, which served as its
headquarters until 1902. The next lap brought
the company to 362 Fifth avenue, where a dec-
ade of further expansion prepared it for the
erection of the splendid seventeen-story build-
ing at 29 West Forty-second street in the heart
of the city's most exclusive shopping district.
•This building, with the celebrated Aeolian con-
cert hall, was a landmark for the past fifteen
years, not the least of the contributing factors
being the immense show window, facing the
busiest sector of Forty-second street, into which
countless thousands gazed daily at the various
Aeolian products on display.
With such a colorful background of close to
half a century, the Aeolian Co. moves into its
new home, which combines all of its past at-
tainments as well as setting new standards of
grandeur for the future! In its interior ap-
pointments, the new Aeolian Hall has been dec-
orated in a manner that achieves beauty and
accuracy of settings for probably the largest
collection of period musical instruments on dis-
play anywhere. The interior decoration has
been done under the direction of W. Zaiser,
official decorator for the company, who inci-
dentally is responsible for the adaptation of
nearly a score of new art cases for the Weber,
Steck and other Aeolian-made pianos, shown
throughout the building.
. To the visitor, inspecting Aeolian Hall for the
first time, there comes a feeling of bewilderment
at the excellence of taste as at the immense-
ness of the undertaking. The treasure marts
of the world literally have been called on to
supply the rich hangings and appointments and
no expense has been spared to create in the
building a superlative background for musical
instruments. While the general plan of archi-
tecture is Louis XVI in character, a variety of
other periods have been interestingly expressed
on the various floors of the establishment.
To begin with, one enters the Louis XVI
reception room on the ground floor, view of
which is offered to both Fifth avenue and
Fifty-fourth, street by huge show windows.
Here, the magnificence of marble pilasters and
coffered ceiling is relieved by a center panel,
soon to be completed, painted by the artist
Regal symbolizing the ninth symphony of Bee-
thoven. Mirrored wall brackets and a rare
crystal chandelier, draperies of damask and
brocade and a tufted carpet of gold lend to the
room a dignity which is truly impressive. Con-
cerning the marble-tiled floor one learns that
the white marble was imported from Belgium
and the black tiles were made from Italian
marble, creating a delightful contrast.
The second floor contains the new Aeolian
auditorium, which has a capacity of one
hundred and sixty persons. Its limited size
provides an air of intimacy, which should prove
a source of satisfaction to both artist and audi-
ence. The concert hall is finished in white and
gold with mulberry hangings and furnishings
of early Georgian design. The miniature stage
is lighted with four crystal chandeliers lending
it a charm which could never be attained in
greater dimensions.
A Steinway Duo-Art and an Aeolian pipe
organ are installed in the auditorium, which has
already been dedicated with several music pro-
grams by well-known artists.
The front of the second floor is known as the
fountain room and is one of the most im-
posing parts in the building. On this floor
yellow is a predominant note, being brought
out by the walls and an indirect flood of light
from a large, overhanging dome above the
small fountain. In the latter is an exquisite
statue of Pan's daughter, set within the play of
streams of water. The floor here is done in
marble similar to the main reception room be-
low it.
On each successive display floor, particular
effort has been made to provide demonstration
rooms in period styles and some unusual con-
trasts are brought out. A charming New Eng-
land pine room on the third floor is one of the
most striking of these, with its walls of paneled
pine, colonial fire-place and hangings, floor and
ceiling in appropriate tone.
Another demonstration room of rare excel-
lence is the Georgian room on the fourth floor.
Rich colonnades and graceful arches, em-
phasized by a color scheme of shell grey and
white, bring out an harmony for the display of
pianos, which would be hard to equal. A red
lacquer room on the second floor, perhaps the
most modern in design of any of the demon-
stration rooms in the building, affords excel-
lent contrast to the other periods on this floor.
Any attempt to do justice to the various
period rooms within the scope of the present
article entails the same difficulties as would the
simplification of an art catalog. To be fully ap-
preciated, the building requires a personal in-
spection, consuming the better portion of an
entire day. There are, however, numerous fea-
tures in addition to the period display rooms,
which stand out by themselves.
One of these is the dealers' club room on
the seventh floor of the building, adjoining the
offices of the wholesale department. This room
is done in the early American manner, of a
period antedating the early American pine room
on the third floor by about sixty years. Pine
paneling, fireplace, shaded candle-brackets on
the walls and many of the other characteristics
of the period are found here as well, providing
one of the most restful chambers of the build-
ing. This room is designed particularly to add
to the comfort of the visiting Aeolian repre-
sentative from out of town, while talking over
his problems and requirements with executives
of the wholesale staff. The chamber commands
an excellent view of Fifth avenue with a south-
ern and western exposure and is conducive to
restfulncss, being sound-proof from the bustle.
The executive offices of H. B. Tremaine,
president, together with those of E. S. Votey,
vice-president, and W. H. Alfring, second vice-
president, are located on the top floor of the
building. The separate private rooms of the
official suite are done with paneled walls of
plain plaster, all being in the same manner.
Huge mahogany-topped desks produce an air
of official dignity and simple but tasteful rugs
with the famous AE diphthong of the Aeolian
Co. complete the picture.
Adjoining the official suite is an early E n g -
lish oak room with ceiling of striking geometric
design, characteristic of the period. This room
fronts on the avenue and has access to a bal-
cony leading along the Fifty-fourth street side
past the official suite and commanding the best
view of the city from the entire building. The
purpose of the room is to provide an ante-
chamber for the executives.
Elaborateness of decoration is carried out
even to the elevators which carry visitors to the
various floors of the building. The walls are
in patterns of some fifteen or twenty rare woods
inlaid in delicate design. Most of the woods
are South American, such as pearwood, apple-
wood, tulipwood and satinwood. The ensemble
has a satin finish bringing out the natural
figure of the woods in beautiful style.
The building also has another set of com-
mercial elevators at its rear, which give access
to the business offices on the upper floors and
are not intended for the use of patrons. An
immense freight elevator, running from the
street level to the spacious basement, has been
designed by E. S. Votey to facilitate the trans-
portation of pianos in and out of the base-
ment by truck.
This elevator is one of the
largest ever made, with a capacity of carrying
the largest vans used in hauling pianos. Trucks
are simply backed into this lift, lowered three
or four feet below the basement so that the
piano boxes may be moved on rollers from the
floor of the van to the basement floor on the
same level.
Nothing" seems to have been overlooked in
constructing the new Aeolian Hall, which com-
bine external grandeur with a world of beauty
in its interior appointments without losing sight
of its aim of being a great commercial enter-
prise. There is no attempt on the part of its de-
signers and decorators to draw the atten-
tion of the visitor to the various artistic
creations embodied in the building.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).