As National City works to improve our building, we have been focusing on the forthcoming re-opening of the Howland Center. The Howland Center, named in honor of The Rev. Dr. William Howland who served as National City’s Senior Minister and President for 18 years, has long been a space that cultivates faithfulness through worship, fellowship, music in the arts, and is a welcoming hosting space for weddings and other special events. Recently, through the generosity of our community, we acquired a refurbished Steinway Model B piano, colloquially known as a “classic grand” which is the third largest Steinway behind the Model D and C, or “concert grands.” The Steinway Model B is highly sought after for restorations because it’s considered a perfect instrument for balancing tonal richness and size, which should create a rich experience for musicians and concert goers in this space.
The first Steinway piano was built in 1853, and the Model B was first constructed in 1878. Our refurbished Steinway was produced in 1881 (even without a certificate of sale, we can tell because of the serial number) Every Steinway piano has over 12,000 individual parts, and restoring one instrument can take months or over a year, which is why it is not only special to add a Steinway Model B in our space but reflects part of the care we lend to our instruments to they can be part of the hospitality we extend to musicians and events in our space.
The foundation is excited about this movement toward our re-opening of the space. Its anticipated return to being an intimate and warm gathering for music, arts, worship, and celebrations will return another layer of vitality to our bustling ministry space and open up new partnerships.