Designed by Henry E. Baton, The Presser Home for Retired Teachers was built in 1914, next to Theodore Presser’s personal home. The two properties were then altered, into the three story, H-shaped building seen in many photographs. That building still stands today.
Casa di Riposo per Musicisti
Inspiration in Creating a Home
The Casa di Riposo per Musicisti (House of Rest for Musicians) in Milan, Italy was founded by Guiseppe Verdi, an Italian opera composer, inspired and motivated music educator and publisher Theodore Presser to found a similar home here in Philadelphia, accessible to people across the United States.
Early Endeavors
Before the Presser Home for Retired Music Teachers existed, Mr. Presser supported other endeavors to assist retired music teachers and musicians, such as “The Presser Home for Aged Musicians,” which opened in 1906. However, this home was unsuccessful and left with few applicants due to, as someone pointed out to Mr. Presser, many people not wanting to consider themselves aged. The failure of his home, led to the renovation and re-opening of a new home (with a new name) in 1914.
The Opening
Invitation to the opening of the home.
The home opened at 2:30 PM on Saturday September 26th, 1914, with a ribbon cutting ceremony and opening words from the mayor of Philadelphia at the time, Rudolph Frankenburg. Mr. Presser also used the opportunity of this opening to reach out to a variety of music support groups, such as The National Federation of Music Clubs, one of the biggest musical nonprofits in the United States, and musicians such as Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner and violinist Maud Powell, whom he asked to attend and perform at the opening. She sent a recording of Deep River by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor to be played on the day of the opening, a song which she transcribed, along with her attendance and performance. On that day, two baritone opera singers, Henri Scott (1896-1942) and David Bispham (1857-1921) both performed at the opening of the home.
The Home
The Home was designed as a home for music teachers over the age of 65 who had taught music for at least 25 years. Approximately a year after the home opened, a distributed pamphlet, titled “Presser Home for Retired Music Teachers” included a list of home board members and staff, as well as attributes of the house, the members currently residing in the house, and images of the building, rooms, and lounge spaces. It even included an application on the back. At the time, there was a $200 down payment, in order to financially support and care for any individuals living at the Presser Home.
The house was expanded in 1931 in order to increase the number of facilities, redecorate, and better accommodate the residents who lived there. The Home housed more than 100 individuals over the course of over 50+ years; it even withstood a fire in 1971 (which introduced the prohibition of smoking in the home). The house closed in 1979, with many of the individuals living there still being financially supported by The Presser Foundation in Cathedral Village and other assisted living facilities throughout the Greater Philadelphia area and through the Assistance to Music Teachers program.
Life in the Home
Charles Fowler wrote an article offering one of the few glimpses into the people who cherished the Presser Home. Titled A Visit to the Presser Home for Retired Musicians, Mr. Fowler met and interviewed Mr. Baker, the director of the home at the time, as well as the residents. During the interview, Mr. Baker said “Concerts are an integral part of the weekly life here, soloists and groups are invited to perform, and quite often the people in residence draw on their own musical resources and perform for each other.”
Mr. Fowler also interviewed residents from a range of ages, discussing their contributions to their local communities throughout the nation, their time spent at the home, their performances for other individuals in the home, their time practicing in the music rooms throughout the building, and their time spent going to the Academy of Music to hear The Philadelphia Orchestra. In this article, Mr. Fowler focused on many of the aspects that Theodore Presser valued in the home – community and the enjoyment of music, specifically the bond that music creates, which brought individuals together in the home.
Check out Part 2 of this special series on the Presser Home next week!
Joseph Richards served as the Research Intern at The Presser Foundation during the summer of 2022. He conducted research at Temple University’s Special Collections Research Center.
