Extra: Pianos

As a pianist, I am often frustrated by the fact that more and more venues are forsaking their acoustic pianos and requiring performers to bring in their own digital keyboards. While it is true that the digital keyboards can be easily positioned anywhere, require no maintenance on the part of the venue, and are always in tune, they simply cannot match the look, feel, and sound of a real acoustic piano.

I have developed a sense of nostalgia for a time (which I can now hardly remember) when every home, stage, and public gathering space was equipped with a piano. The high point for piano sales in the United States was the 1910's, when dozens of piano factories in the United States produced mostly large upright studio and player pianos that were solidly built from old growth timber. When properly restored and maintained, many of these instruments still sound great today.

The following are images of pianos that at one time graced Iowa's theaters and public spaces and were fortuitously captured in photographs. They are included in this web site for your enjoyment (and because I have no where better to post them at the moment.)

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THEATER PIANOS:

• Davenport, Family Theatre
• Des Moines, Harris-Emory Theatre
• Shenandoah, Mayfair Auditorium

LOBBIES, PARLORS, BALLROOMS:

• Belle Plaine, Herring Cottage
• Davenport, Hotel Kimball
• Des Moines, Hotel Fort Des Moines
• Dubuque, YWCA

PIANO STORES:

• Cedar Rapids, Emerson & Hiltbrunner
• Cherokee, Kendall J. Nelson
• Davenport, Tri-City Piano
• Des Moines, Milligan Piano Sales
• Waterloo, Stroebel Music House