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William Steinway, son of Steinway & Sons founder, brought the company to the Astoria area.

Steinway & Sons is the legendary piano maker. In 1870, William Steinway, son of the company founder, purchased a large tract of land in northwest Queens and moved the cramped operations to a new home along the East River. Along with the factory, he built Steinway Village, a company town with its own post office, church, library and housing for employees.

The Steinway factory

Workers outside of the Steinway factory.

A square piano--an example of the variety of instruments produced by Steinway.

Craftsmen's tools at the Steinway factory, where pianos are made in the same basic processes as designed by Henry Steinway.

North Beach

The company also provided a park for recreation. Further east along the river, Steinway established North Beach, an amusement park and beer garden for his mostly German employees. But Queens' version of Coney Island did not prove as resilient, finally closing with Prohibition. Today the North Beach land is occupied by La Guardia airport.

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