Home Buying

Listed: For $8.5m, a mid-century modern stunner with a musical history

Among the Colonial, Georgian, and Victorian houses that dominate New England, this Cambridge property is anything but ordinary.

The 6,898-square-foot Cambridge home was tied to the family behind the Greater Boston piano shop M. Steinert & Sons. Jack Vatcher

By Kelly Garrity -- Boston.com correspondent

November 4, 2021

Mixed in among the Colonial, Georgian, and Victorian houses that dominate New England’s cities and towns, 64 Highland St. in Cambridge is anything but ordinary. The “modernist masterpiece” (as it’s described in the listing) was featured in Architectural Record’s May issue as one of the “Record Houses of 1965.” Architect Frederick Bruck built the home for Alan Steinert, grandson of Morris Steinert, who founded the Greater Boston piano shop M. Steinert & Sons.

The mid-century modern property hit the market for $8,500,000 on Oct. 25 and has five bedrooms, four bathrooms, two half bathrooms, and 6,898 square feet of living space. The listing agent is Allison Mazer of Compass.

Double front doors with wood detail designed to look like the sun’s rays open into a foyer with a hardwood floor inlay and a step down into the piano room at the rear of the house. The piano room shares an open floor plan with the living room. Both of the south-facing rooms have wood floors and floor-to-ceiling windows, drenching the space in natural light. The living room also has a wood-burning fireplace set against a dark brick wall.

The library lies to the right of the living room and features wood floors and two rows of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. The dining room sits slightly above the living room and has wood floors and recessed lighting. Off to the right, the sunroom features tile floors and three walls of windows, as well as doors to the yard.

In the kitchen, marble countertops complement the white countertops and appliances, including a double oven. The space has a breakfast nook with a chandelier, a curved island with room for seating, and a set of glass doors to the patio. There is another sink, an oven, a refrigerator, and a wet bar in the hallway off the kitchen, Mazer said. The hallway is also home to an elevator to all three levels, Mazer said. There’s a half bathroom at the end of the hallway.

The owner bedroom takes up most of the left side of the home, with three double-door closets and a bathroom with a tile floor, jetted bathtub, walk-in shower, and a long vanity with drawers and cabinets underneath and a makeup desk at one end. The bedroom and bathroom are connected via a room with a wood-burning fireplace the seller used as a den. It could serve as an additional bedroom, Mazer said.

Though the Steinert’s requested a one-story home, according to Architectural Record, the house has a partial second story, made to “accommodate guest bedrooms and a maid’s bedroom.” The floor holds two full bathrooms, a walk-in closet in the hallway, and three bedrooms, two of which have balconies.

The lowest level of the home offers a half bathroom, several rooms for storage, an office, and a space (with an en-suite bath) the seller used as a gym. This level offers 1,790 square feet of living space not included in the grand total.

The 0.7-acre property comes with an attached two-car garage.

Views of the lush garden and yard can be enjoyed from outside or inside, given the numerous windows, the balconies, and the patio.

“They really did a great job with indoor-outdoor living. From the sunroom to the living room and many of the bedrooms, you’re able to open the doors – they’re all glass doors – right out into the garden and the patio,” Mazer said. “There’s a lot of different layers of outdoor living.”

See more photos of the home below: