11 East 62nd Street New York, N.Y. 10121 In 1900, Margaret Vanderbilt Shephard, daughter of William Henry Vanderbilt and granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt, built two double-width houses for her two daughters, Maria and Edith. For Maria and her husband William Schieffelin, who was in the pharmaceutical business, a house was built at 5 East 66th Street; and as a wedding present for Edith and her husband Ernesto Fabbri, head of the Society of Italian Immigrants, this townhouse was built at 11 East 62nd Street. Known today as the Fabbri-Steele Mansion, the townhouse is one of the most exuberant Beaux-Arts style houses in New York City. It was designed by the firm of Haydel & Shepard, chosen perhaps because the latter partner, August Dennis Shepard Jr., was a cousin of Edith. The original plans show that the 45-1/2-foot-wide house had 22,500 square feet and included a 25 by 41 foot mahogany paneled dining room, gentlemen's and ladies' reception rooms, an ornate ballroom, seven principal bedrooms, and nine servants' bedrooms. The sweeping staircase leading to the second floor featured a banister which supports a pair of Louis XIV-style bronze candelabra with cupids nearly six feet high. Despite the opulence of their French townhouse, the Fabbris spent much time abroad and by 1911 had moved to Paris. In 1912, their New York townhouse was sold to Charles Steele. In 1914, perhaps because of the outbreak of the First World War, the Fabbris returned to the United States and began to plan and build a new residence—this time in the Italian style—at 7 East 95th Street. Their second New York residence also included an Aeolian Organ, Op. 1398, which has two manuals and 17 ranks, plus a Duo-Art player in the console. For details on the Aeolian organ at 7 East 95th Street, see House of the Redeemer. The second owners of the Fabbri townhouse were Charles Steele, and his wife, Nannie. Charles Steele was a partner at J. P. Morgan & Company, and a partner in the law firm of Seward, Guthrie & Steele. He was also involved in the affairs of the Metropolitan Opera and the Protestant Episcopal Church of America, and served as senior warden of both St. Thomas Church, New York, and the Church of the Advent, Westbury, N.Y. A great lover of church music, Mr. Steele studied organ with Dr. T. Tertius Noble at St. Thomas, and in 1922 he contributed $200,000 for the purchase of two houses so that the choir school could have a permanent home. Three years later, in 1925, Steele contributed another $300,000 to endow the choir school. Charles and Nannie Steele also maintained a home in Westbury, NY, where an Aeolian Organ, Op. 1126, was installed in 1910; this organ was later removed by Ernest M. Skinner and installed in the Church of the Advent in Westbury. Charles Steele died on August 5, 1939, at the age of 83, leaving an estate valued at over $30 million. His funeral was held on August 7 at St. Thomas Church, conducted by the Rt. Rev. Ernest M. Stires, BIshop of Long Island and former rector of St. Thomas Church. At Mr. Steele's request, Dr. T. Tertius Noble was flown from Santa Monica, CA to play the organ and direct the boy choir for his funeral. In 1941, the townhouse was taken in foreclosure by the Bowery Savings Bank. In 1943 it was purchased by the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation, known for its aptitude testing. In 2001, the Japanese government bought the townhouse for $21.5 million. |
|||||||
|
|||||||
