The New World – Steinway & Sons | Workshop and Production

In 1858, William Steinway (1835–1896) acquired a large plot of land on 4th Avenue in New York (now Park Avenue) for Steinway & Sons and had a new, highly modern factory built on the site: a 6-story building, fitted with three steam-boilers providing energy for dozens of drying ovens, elevators and machines. 350 workers – mainly German immigrants – soon produced 1800 square pianos and grand pianos here per year.    

In the early 1870s, Steinway & Sons opened a second factory (“Rikers”) on the other side of the East River, in Astoria/Long Island (Queens). This is where the cases, cast frames, machine heads, hammers, keyboards, feet and lyre were manufactured and assembled. Afterwards, the instruments were shipped across the East River to the Manhattan factory and were fitted with a sound board.  The Manhattan-side employees also regulated the mechanics and took care of the final, sensitive adjustments.