Historical Site: Steinway & Sons Factory
The name Steinway, and Steinway Street all stem from the prominent piano maker, Henry Engelhard Steinway’s factory. After originally starting off in West Village, Steinway moved his factory to Astoria. To this day the Queens factory supplies the Americas with their distinguished Steinway & Sons pianos.
The factory is located in northern Astoria, on what has been aptly named Steinway Place. The factory is a light, airy, and functional space where pianos are built in the same way they were in the 19th century. Photographer Christopher Payne who documented the Steinway & Sons factory described the manufacturing process of the factory in a 2012Â openhousenewyork talk. Payne states that the company uses the same “industrial processes that were cutting edge” when first developed, many of which were developed particularly for manufacturing pianos.
These processes, and the meticulous, awe-inspiring craftsmanship that go into the year-long process of making each of these incredible instruments can be seen on a free tour of the factory. For information about tours simply email them at [email protected] to make reservations.