Sohmer Piano Showroom, 1922.

This lot on 57th Street was once occupied by the Rothschild mansion, a 19th century brownstone-fronted Italianate rowhouse. In the 1910s as this neighborhood was moving from residential buildings to commercial structures, Sohmer Piano Company leased the plot at no. 31. The rowhouse was demolished and a new six-story commercial building was erected for the piano firm. Randolph H. Almiroty designed a Italian-inspired facade that fit in well with the look of its neighbors. This location was well known from 1985 until 2014 as the home of the Rizzoli Bokstore. The bookstore was forced to relocate in 2014 ahead of plans to demolish the building and its neighbors for a new large building.