On Tenth Avenue and 52nd Street stands a lovely red brick tenement building with some ghostly signage. “Factory & Warerooms” reads the banner lettering across the facade between the second and third floors.
Then, on the lower left, “Player Pianos.” This building was the home of the Becker Bros. piano factory, founded by Jacob Becker. On www.bluebookofpianos.com, it explains that Becker pianos were “of great merit in which the skill and experience of the makers are clearly evinced.”
The player pianos were also rated pretty highly. “The Becker Bros. player piano is equally meritorious and noted for its simplicity of construction and ease of operation,” the guide says.
Tags: Becker Bros. pianos, Hell's Kitchen, piano manufacturers, Player pianos, Random signage
Ephemeral New York 
November 27, 2008 at 6:35 am |
Still enjoying your blog immensely, but had a question…
How do you find out your nifty facts? Are you speaking to owners? Scouring the libraries? Surfing online?
Just wonder, because I have a rather romanticized image of you buried in library stacks and there’s something awesome about that.
November 27, 2008 at 7:11 am |
I’m so glad you enjoy ephemeral. I guess I find these things using all the methods you mentioned: Internet research, walking around and noticing things, reading books about the city. I wish I had the time to bury my head in library stacks! Sounds like a wonderful way to spend the cold winter months.
February 1, 2009 at 10:00 pm |
Interesting to see the building where my Becker Bros. player piano was made in 1923. Thank you!
November 1, 2011 at 2:54 am |
I was told by my mother that our becker piano was built by my great great great(I think( grandfather,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,is this possible ?
November 6, 2017 at 5:04 am |
[…] a brick wall next door to a strangely suburban-looking Marriott Hotel is a relic of New York’s piano manufacturing […]