The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-02-01
KNARE's Plane FACTORY.
Largest Factory in tho World.
Immense Factory Improvement.

From the Baltimore Gazette, August q,
lsG9l
The large addition to the Piano
Factory OF Messrs. Knabe 81 Co.. at
the corner Of Eataw and West
Streets, is now completed, aud the
factory is at this time the largest In
the country. The entire building has
been remodeled for the better ar
rangement Of the several depart
ments OF the work, so that as the man
ufactUre of an instrument progresses
1t passes regularly from floor to floor
until it is ready for use. The factory
has now front of 2l0 feet on Eutaw
Street, and 1876 on West Street, and
| covers, with the lumber houses and
yards, an area OF near two and a quar-
ter acres. The new part OF the build
ing has front Of 40 feet on Eutaw
Street, with depth of forty feet, and
is five stories high. The center front
is of pressed brick, after the compo-
site style Of architecture, with gable
peak, and on the roof is u handsome
cupalo, from which there is a mag
niicent view Of the water and land
for miles around, the floor Of the
cupalO having an altitude of one hun
dred feet. In the interior construction
of the building the greatest precau
tiOns have been taken 70 guard against
danger by fire. Its divided By heavy
brick walls, with iron doors leading
from one part of a floor to another,
and so thorough are the arrangements
that water may at any time be opened
In any part Of the structure. La the
new building the first floor is occu
pied as an Office, store room, ware
room and packing room, while in the
old building the FIRST floor has been
devoted to the use Of machinery en-
tirely, where all the rougher portions
of the work are done. Here all the
frames for the pianos and keyboards
are prepared for the hands Of the
workmen who give the finishing touch.
At the extreme end of this floor, and
to the rear end cf West Street, is the
drying room, which has capacity for
100000 feet of thoroughly air
seasoned lumber, the whole of which
is subjected to high degree Of tenn
perature for five months before it is
worked into pianos. The second
floor of this building, two hundred
feet long and fifty feet wide, is en-
tirely occupied by case makers for
grand, upright and square pianos.
i he third floor, Of the same dimen-
sions, Is occupied By top makeT5,
where all the tops of pianos are made
ready for the finishing room. Here
also the sounding boards are made,
and the key makers perform their
delicate work on this floor. A small
apartment is here partitioned off,
w h IN -. L. y
with machine In wrapping the brass
thousand revolutions per minute. The
fourth floor will in future be used By fly !
fnishers, case makers, and for putting !
from the first floor the instruments
have gone through the regular stages |
of manufacture, and carried from one
floor to another by means OF an eleva-
tor. until they are ready for the |
finishing department., which is in the
new portion of the factory. whittier |
they are conveyed on trucks made |
expressl ~ for the purpose. The |
vanishing department occupies the |
entire fifth floor of the old and new
buildings, where there are now from |
SIX to seven hundred pianos In the |
gradually In the new building as the /
ascent was in the old, after leaving |
the vanishing department the in
struments are transferred to the |
fourth floor, where the strings and /
Thence they are taken to the third |
floor, where tire actions are regulated,
the instruments put in tune, the tops /
sF1A n hn cd In
the second floor the pianos, having
passed entirely from the hands of tho
workmeD, are here examined and
tuned before they can be sent to the
Wareroom, on the first floor, or to the
salesroom. The capacity of the fac
tory has, by these improvements, been
increased from forty-fYe to seventy
FIVE pianos per week, giving employ
ment to nearly one thousand men.
This small army of workmen, some of
which have been connected with this
world renowned house for over forty
years, have acquired wealth, and ap-
parently seem like one happy family,
none the less proud of their superior
productions, than were they all indi-
vIdual members of the firm.
Ali parts of the building are thor
oughly lighted and ventilated, and
in the front centre of the new build
ing there is an elevator Of the most
costly and perfect description, and
large enough to take in a piano
standing on its legs. The we'll hole
for this elevator is supplied with wa
ter and all the modern conveniences.
The entire area of the five floors Of
the building as now constructed, COW
ers two and one-half acres. The i'm
provemenfs have cost some hun
dred and forty thousand dollars, but
the demand for much larger supply
Of pianos required that they should I
be made. and the enterprise Of the
determined them that {
Baltimore, in this department of in
dustry at least. shall not be behind
any other city Of the world.
Warren &. Conyngton, sole agents for
this city and vicinity. febl 1t
rg Z. G. Bridwea & Co, corner
IF Main and Third Streets, have a I