#92 Steinway: the Piano Man

The Bowery Boys: New York City History

Tom Meyers

Society & Culture, History, Documentary, Places & Travel

4.8 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 23 October 2009

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Henry Steinway, a German immigrant who came to New York in 1850, made his name in various showrooms and factories in downtown Manhattan, enticing the wealthy with his award-winning quality pianos. At their grand Steinway Hall on 14th Street, the family turned a popular concert venue into a clever marketing opportunity. But their ultimate fate would lie outside of Manhattan; the Steinways would graduate from an innovative factory on Park Avenue to their very own company village in Queens, the basis of a neighborhood which still bears their name today. You may not know much about pianos, but you've cross path with this family's influence in the city. Tune in for this short history of Henry Steinway and his sons. www.boweryboyspodcast.com Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The Bowry Boys Episode 92, Steinway, The Piano Man.
0:05.5	Hey, it's The Bowry Boys!
0:07.0	Hey!
0:08.0	The Bowry Boys is brought to you by eurochipo.com.
0:12.0	Eurochipo editors personally visit and review the best budget hotels in Europe.
0:17.0	Now with hotels in New York City, on the web at eurochipo.com.
0:21.5	Hello, welcome to The Bowry Boys.
0:23.0	This is Greg Young.
0:24.0	I am back with the solo show.
0:26.0	I hope you're not too disappointed.
0:27.5	Tom isn't here this week.
0:28.5	Today's topic on the surface, I guess, might seem kind of stodgy.
0:32.5	This is Steinway and Suns.
0:34.5	They are the famed piano manufacturers who presently have a factory in Queens.
0:39.0	I'm going to confess I actually started out to do a broader topic this week.
0:42.5	Namely, the history of Astoria, which is the neighborhood that the Steinway Factory is currently located.
0:48.5	And one day I promise either I or Tom and I will both get to that show.
0:53.5	I promise it's got a great history.
0:55.0	The silent film areas tied there, some adulterous puritons, of course John Jacob Astoria, lots of good stuff, but that's for another time.
1:02.0	Instead, I actually got distracted by this story, which actually became really fascinating the more I learned about it.
1:09.0	Steinway got its start in New York in 1853, and it grew become an internationally renowned maker of pianos.
1:16.0	I like this story because it's pretty much your classic immigrant rags to riches tailed from the mid-19th century,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Tom Meyers, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Tom Meyers and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.