Thallon Mansion, 1930.

Robert Thallon was a Scot who arrived in the United States in 1853. Over the next decade he became a pioneer in the field of food exporting and a founder of the New York Produce Exchange. After a decade aboard post-retirement, Thallon and family returned to New York. Thallon the elder bought a home in the tony community along St. Marks Avenue at no. 816. Robert Thallon Jr., an accomplished musician and music teacher, set up a studio in his own mansion, seen here at no. 900. Between 1885 and 1901, when the mansion was sold, Thallon Jr. presented more than 600 weekly morning concerts with the assistance of his students, family, and invited musicians. This private venue became an important center of musical life in Brooklyn. The concerts often featured the home's walnut-encased, custom-made pipe organ.

The land what was once occupied by the Thallon Mansion is today the children’s playground inn Brower Park. While the house was lost, the organ that once delighted visitors had survived. It was purchased by the Methodist Church of Naugatuck, Connecticut, where it remains in use.