When you think of classic New York brands, you might come up with Nathan's or the Yankees before thinking of Steinway & Sons. However, the historic piano maker has deep roots in the five boroughs.

Mausoleum of the Steinway family, the famous piano manufacturers, ca. 1875. Piano maker Henry Engelhard Steinway (1797-1871) migrated to New York City from Germany in 1851. By 1860, his company, Steinway & Sons, had already become the leading piano manufacturer in the country. The business stayed in the family for many years and continued to find great success. The Steinway Mausoleum at Green-Wood, built in the 1870s at a cost of $80,000 (equivalent to over $1.5 million today) is the cemetery's largest, with room for between 150 and 200 interments. It was designed by sculptor and funerary architect John Moffitt. (Lot 15388, Sec. 46/47)

Founded in 1838 and now a National Historic Landmark, Green-Wood was one of the first rural cemeteries in America. By the early 1860s, it had earned an international reputation for its magnificent beauty and became the prestigious place to be buried, attracting 500,000 visitors a year, second only to Niagara Falls as the nation’s greatest tourist attraction. Crowds flocked there to enjoy family outings, carriage rides, and sculpture viewing in the finest of first generation American landscapes. Green-Wood’s popularity helped inspire the creation of public parks, including New York City’s Central and Prospect Parks. This tour takes you through some of the monuments of Green-Wood and its famous denizens.