Cable Piano Company

The Cable Piano Company or simply Cable Company was an American piano manufacturing company founded by Herman D. Cable in 1880. It was one of the largest piano makers in Chicago.[1] It claimed to be "the world's greatest manufacturer of pianos, inner player pianos, and organs".[2] In 1901, the company built a factory in St. Charles on 3.5 acres west of the Fox River.[2]

The Cable Piano Company
IndustryPiano designing / manufacturing
Founded1880
FounderHerman D. Cable
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
,
The United States
ProductsPianos
Row of key fitters at the Cable Company factory.
Kingsbury was one of the many brands produced by the Cable Company.

History

After being originally involved with the Western Cottage Organ Company (later changed to Chicago Cottage Organ Company), H.D. Cable founded The Cable Piano Company, and subsequently became one of the major contributors to the American piano industry.[3] In 1890, Cable consolidated with the Conover Brothers, as well as his two brothers Fayette S. Cable and Hobart M. Cable (although Fayette S. Cable and Hobart M. Cable continued to build pianos under their own names).[4] During the factory's heyday in the early 1900s, there were as many as 500 employees.[2]

Brands

The Cable Company produced pianos under different name brands, after acquiring other piano makers. In 1936, the Schiller Piano Company was acquired, producing pianos under the name Cable and Conover. Other piano brands that were acquired and/or produced by Cable were Euphona,[5] Kingsbury,[6] Wellington[7] and Elburn. The facility known as the Wellington Piano Case Company Building, is on the National Register of Historic Places in Leominster, Massachusetts.

Building

The factory was located in the city of Saint Charles, Illinois near the Fox River. Built in 1901, it manufactured pianos until 1936, when it was converted into a furniture factory for W.H. Howell. The factory would close in January 1980 due to financial hardships.[2] It would reopen six years later in May 1986[2] as the Piano Factory Outlet Mall serving as an indoor mall with many outlet stores for major brands such as Corning, American Tourister, Carter's, Pfalzgraff and Anchor Hocking. The outlet mall would close in 1997, due to foreclosure on the site.[2][8] The building was razed in September 2000 to make way for a residential development.[2] Condominiums and other mixed use buildings occupy the site now.

References
  1. Antiquepianoshop.Com
  2. "St. Charles Historic Buildings: Cable Piano Company". St. Charles Public Library. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  3. Antiquepianoshop.Com
  4. Antiquepianoshop.Com
  5. Blue Book of Pianos
  6. Blue Book of Pianos
  7. Blue Book of Pianos
  8. Young, David (21 October 1999). "St. Charles' Puzzling Flop". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 15 July 2019.

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