Steinway & Sons was founded in 1853 by German immigrant Henry Engelhard Steinway in a Manhattan loft on Varick Street. Over the next thirty years, Henry and his sons, C. F. Theodore, Charles, Henry Jr., William, and Albert, developed the modern piano. They built their pianos one at a time, applying skills that were handed down from master to apprentice, generation after generation. The factory offers a tour from Fall to Spring. The tour takes 2.5 hours to complete and its highlights include the sauna-like curing room, an enormous cellar stacked with precious veneers, and the famous rim-bending room where burly workers force lengths of wood into piano-shaped moulds. Advance reservations are required; call 718-721-2600 x3164. Address: One Steinway Place, Astoria NY - 11105 (718)721-2600
