The property on which 829 stands was originally part of an 800-acre plot of land developed by John Eager Howard (fifth Governor of Maryland and then U.S. Senator) into a gentleman's estate in 1770. The property was known as Howard's Park and was open to the public with bridle trails and pathways. In the mid-1800s, as Baltimore prospered from the railroad boom and began a period of relatively rapid growth, the heirs to the property began further subdividing and selling the land. The property was acquired by Francis T. King in 1883, a successful businessman and a prominent Quaker philanthropist, who erected the current residence.

In 1892, Francis King’s estate sold the property to Jessie Harwar Taylor (nee Keene), a wealthy socialite from New York married to Talbot J. Taylor, scion of the Baltimore Taylor family who owned a large and beautiful Baltimore estate known as Cloud-Capped; Talbot Taylor was also the great grandson of Talbot Jones, one of the original incorporators of the B&O Railroad, and the name-source for Talbot County, Maryland. Three years later, the Taylors sold the property to Ernest J. Knabe, Jr. Ernest was the grandson of William Knabe, founder of the Knabe Piano company, which at the time was one of the three largest piano manufacturers in the country (along with Steinway in New York and Chickering in Boston). Ernest, then the president of the Knabe company, purchased the Park Avenue property upon his marriage to Nellie Schlens, also of Baltimore “society.”

The Knabes were well-known for their support of the musical arts in Baltimore as well as New York. A famous example is the family’s sponsorship of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s 1891 United States tour. He played in Baltimore at the Lyceum on North Charles Street prior to traveling to New York to play for opening night of Carnegie Hall on, of course, a Knabe piano. Knabe pianos were highly regarded and graced the homes of many wealthy and famous people, including, for example, Francis Scott Key, who commissioned a beautiful and elaborate square piano from Knabe. (Key’s instrument is today on display in The Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee.)

The Knabes’ lifestyle reflected their social standing. Among other things, the Knabes added the extravagant marble-columned conservatory on the back of the house, and the rich mahogany woodwork in the dining room. The Knabe’s parties were often reported in the Baltimore papers; for example, in 1906 when they hosted a reception for Arthur Rubinstein during his first U.S. tour, the Sun reported it, including the décor, what Mrs. Knabe wore, and who was on the 200- person guest list (which consisted of Baltimore’s leading citizens).

The house and property on Park Avenue were sold in 1920 to Harry Hayward Streett, a dentist who used the property for his dental offices and rented upstairs space for psychiatrist offices. The home was used for professional offices for the next 80 years until purchased by Raymond Warren and returned to residential use in 1999. The Warrens added a kitchen to the main level as, in the home’s previous residential incarnation, the kitchen was in the basement, where the servants did the cooking. The Warrens also tore down the walls that had encased the marble columns during the home’s stint as offices. The complete restoration of the home according to National Park Service historic preservation standards occurred after its sale to new owners in 2022, returning the home to its 1880s grandeur, with the addition of modern-day luxury conveniences.

Property deeds reflecting the home’s history in more detail are available upon request, as well a scrapbook of old newspaper clippings concerning the families who lived here before the building’s commercial period.