Henry M. Lundine
deadHenry M. Lundine
28 MAY 1886 – 30 APR 1952. Original owner of the McAllistor Building, which began as his private residence before being refitted into apartments (permit addendum 2 MAR 1953, after his death). Father of Charles Lundine. Known only from the Art Life Dossier.
Death
Found dead in the staircase to the roof on 30 APR 1952, dressed in strange "plastic" silver robes and a papier-mâché mask. NYPD ruled massive stroke after a brief investigation. Photographs show a heavy man in black-and-white sprawled on the third-floor landing, wearing an expressionless white mask.
The Pallid Mask
Silver robes and a white expressionless papier-mâché mask is the wardrobe of the **King in Yellow / the Pallid Mask.** Lundine died in it **on the roof stairwell** — the threshold the investigators now intend to cross at night. He shares an exact birthday (28 MAY 1886) with the building's architect, A. Darabondi.
Open Questions
- Was the mansion already the site of the night floors under Lundine, or did the Darabondi conversion open them?
- Is Lundine the older man in The Defaced Portrait (eyes scratched out, gloved hand)?
- Connection to Star Corporation, which held the building until 1967.