Everything about William Steinway totally explained
William Steinway, also
Wilhelm Steinway, (b.
March 5,
1835, d. November, 1896), son of
Steinway & Sons founder
Henry E. Steinway, was a businessman and civic leader who was influential in the development of
Astoria, New York.
Steinway & Sons
1866 William invented the
Steinway Hall, a huge success for the company, he also founded the Steinway Concert & Artist department, which is still working today. In 1870 William began building a company town
Steinway Village on 400 acres in northern
Astoria, New York. Avoiding the crowded streets and labor problems associated with operating in
Manhattan, he directed the construction of the Steinway Piano Factory on the land, a large facility still in operation today. Near the factory, a small town was built to provide housing for his workers, a church, library and kindergarten as well as a public trolley line.
Steinway served as head of the New York Subway Commission, the group that planned the
New York City Subway network.
The
Steinway Tunnel is named for William, who was a major promoter of its construction, although he died in 1896 before it was completed.
Automobiles
On
September 29,
1888, following a meeting Steinway had with
Gottlieb Daimler during a stay in
Germany, Steinway founded the Daimler Motor Company on
Long Island as part of an agreement the two had entered into to build Daimler car engines in the United States. Steinway had a vision for mass-producing automobiles particularly suited to the needs of the United States market.
The Daimler Motor Company factory began production of automobiles in 1895, a business that would soon change hands, but would nonetheless be remembered as the origin of the "American Mercedes".
Public Transit
During the 1890s, Steinway began a project to expand his company town's horse-drawn trolley line under the
East River and into midtown Manhattan. Although he died before the completion of the project (which would eventually lead to the
IRT Flushing Line, the tunnels that were dug under the East River were named the Steinway Tunnels after him, and the dirt removed from the tunnels was formed into a small
island in the middle of the East River.
Legacy
Steinway died in November, 1896, and was buried at
Green-Wood Cemetery.
Main Street in Astoria has been renamed Steinway St. in his honor, and today a station on the
R,
G, and
S subway lines is named
Steinway St. Station.
In 1939, the resort area which Steinway originally developed just east of Astoria, in North Beach was converted into North Beach Airport (Later renamed
LaGuardia Airport).
External references
Further Information
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