by Laurel | March 19th, 2013
The previous interesting post on Kenilworth Castle legal problems, having to do in part with the beginning of manufacturing hard times, has creditors taking Mrs. Catherine Taft (the widow of E. C. Taft, who built Kenilworth) to court with a dispute over ownership.
The family was able to retain ownership of Kenilworth, though apparently in 1957 after Taft daughter Lucretia Taft Flagg died, many items in the estate were sold. Among these items was an 1884 Steinway grand that had been purchased and built for Lucretia.
The piano ended up in San Francisco in the Tenderloin district, placed in the Cadillac Hotel, an SRO (Single Room Occupancy). It was donated in the memory of Patricia Walkup, an activist and advocate for the poor. There is a nice four-page brochure (PDF) on the piano and journey from Steinway Brothers in Queens to San Francisco, amply illustrated here. And, if you like, there is a brief YouTube video about the Taft piano, viewable below.
