tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post6295107431133104945..comments2024-03-18T07:26:19.953-07:00Comments on Daytonian in Manhattan: The 1924 Aeolian Building--689 Fifth AvenueTom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13542224816886418433noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-55516954055129501922023-02-24T16:03:30.637-08:002023-02-24T16:03:30.637-08:00Did Percy Grainger make piano rolls there too? His...Did Percy Grainger make piano rolls there too? His mother suicided from the 18th floor in 1922 when visiting Percy's manager.di@dimorrissey.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-78683144596968013292020-02-26T19:24:46.226-08:002020-02-26T19:24:46.226-08:00During the time Aeolian was located on West 42nd S...During the time Aeolian was located on West 42nd Street (and later at 689 Fifth), Aeolian was well known for its high quality pianos including Weber and Steck as well as their Duo-Art reproducing player piano system which was installed in Steinway grand pianos and in Weber and Steck pianos. Aeolian had recording studios in both the 42nd St and the later 689 Fifth Ave locations where famous pianists would record reproducing piano rolls. Some of the many famous pianists of the 1920's that made rolls for Aeolian were Arthur Rubinstein, Joseph Hoffmann, Paderewski and George Gershwin. There are many fine examples of these instruments on Youtube.Bway1375guyNYChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14191335711189800765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-77867177519189550432018-04-05T19:55:36.687-07:002018-04-05T19:55:36.687-07:00Yes! 29 w 42.Yes! 29 w 42.LFA Architectshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12671599158292548704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-46948063319358068212018-04-05T19:45:43.291-07:002018-04-05T19:45:43.291-07:00Yes...Aeolian Hall was on 42nd and this article wa...Yes...Aeolian Hall was on 42nd and this article was about the Aeolian building. Good eye Rex Lawson!LFA Architectshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12671599158292548704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-84247076517872158852016-08-13T12:08:38.350-07:002016-08-13T12:08:38.350-07:00I used to co-run then manage the piano "Salon...I used to co-run then manage the piano "Salon" on the third floor of 689 (2004-2010), which is still in operation. Your contemporary pictures show the banners I hung in the windows. Yamaha was the parent company, and they were very proud to have returned to this piano-centric building. I'm delighted that the MCNY has photos of the interior from the Aeolian time. The penthouse actually still looks like it did, without the pipe organ. You should know that the auditorium shot must have been from 42nd Street. That space wouldn't have fit inside the little 689. Fascinating to see more about my old office. Never saw this on your listed chapters before. Thanks.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15565030682360603009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-54416837323143106792014-11-07T09:35:42.730-08:002014-11-07T09:35:42.730-08:00OH! And does that "hall" still exist?OH! And does that "hall" still exist? SadEndinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10104166860952973172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-83853152214360770032014-11-07T09:32:50.921-08:002014-11-07T09:32:50.921-08:00Re: Aeolian Hall vs. Aeolian Building. . . which o...Re: Aeolian Hall vs. Aeolian Building. . . which one housed the actual "HALL"? The one on 42nd or the one on Fifth? Thanks. SadEndinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10104166860952973172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-38468913693536741902014-05-06T13:36:10.670-07:002014-05-06T13:36:10.670-07:00Years ago the staff at Elizabeth Arden kindly show...Years ago the staff at Elizabeth Arden kindly showed me round their salons, and I noticed the exquisitely intertwined EA motifs on the walls, which I was told represented her initials. They didn't, in fact, because they were put there by the AEolian Company, so they were really AE, and not EA. But one can imagine Miss Arden's amazement at finding a building already decorated with her name! No wonder she was enthusiastic to move in. By the way, the titles of the Aeolian photographs on the website of the Museum of the City of New York are frequently wrong, in respect of both date and place. The Aeolian concert hall shown above, with a large piano keyboard banner, is in fact the older and more famous hall at the previous Aeolian building, at 29 W 42nd Street (or indeed W 43rd Street, which was the actual concertgoing entrance). That Aeolian Hall was financed by a group of investors got together by Frederick Bourne, once President of Singer Sewing Machine, and Commodore of the New York Yacht Club, and Aeolian moved in on October 14th, 1912. Aeolian lost a great deal of money in England in the early 1920s, resulting in a debt of roughly $1,000,000 for the US parent company. Perhaps for this reason, or perhaps because Frederick Bourne's estate was being wound up by his children, Aeolian was asked to leave W 42nd Street. I'm certain they didn't want to move, because they had NBC on the premises and also the New York Symphony Orchestra, but they put a brave face on it and sold the idea that the move (back) to Fifth Avenue was actually a sign of progress.Rex Lawsonhttp://www.pianola.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-21842385695069874622014-02-22T08:15:09.931-08:002014-02-22T08:15:09.931-08:00Yes. That building was built for Aeolian in 1912....Yes. That building was built for Aeolian in 1912.Tom Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13542224816886418433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-85838954909810088832014-02-21T17:38:26.859-08:002014-02-21T17:38:26.859-08:00Was the Aeolian Building on 42nd Street across fro...Was the Aeolian Building on 42nd Street across from Bryant Park the prior address of the Aeolian Company before moving here? That older building is less interesting to look at but has a certain fame in music history.Joe non Papahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08100331361158046916noreply@blogger.com