Cable Piano Company
Howell Furniture Company
(Piano Factory Mall)
410 S. 1st Street

The Cable Piano Company, established by Herman D. Cable of Chicago in 1881, claimed to be "the world's greatest manufacturer of pianos, inner player pianos, and organs." Cable built a factory in 1901 in St. Charles on 3.5 acres west of the Fox River. Access to the Northwestern Railway made the St. Charles site particularly attractive because Cable received raw materials from all over the world.

Click to enlarge image.

Cable Piano Company became known not only for its products, but also for its working conditions. During the factory's heyday in the early 1900s, there were as many as 500 employees, many of whom were women. Employees could enjoy the company sponsored brass band and male chorus, or play on the company baseball team. With its own electric plant and fire protection, the factory was also self-sufficient.

Not only did the furniture company produce tubular furniture, gliders, and bridge tables, it also contributed to the war effort during World War II. Like many other companies, Howell produced war materials. At Howell, for example, workers manufactured stainless steel mess trays for the Navy, artillery shells, sections of airplane wings, and casings for 200 pound fragmentation bombs. Following the war, Howell reached its height of production.

In January 1980, the Howell Furniture Company closed its doors. Following nearly 50 years of business in St. Charles, the company had been facing financial problems and a worker's strike.

Soon after the closure, developers Richard Burkart and Bruce Oehlerking bought the factory. Although the developers had planned to convert the building into condominiums and businesses, unsound financial backing and a poor market prohibited this. They decided to sell the building.

At this time, the building faced demoliton if no one came forward to purchase and secure the site. City officials and citizens complained that the decaying building was both an eyesore and a hazard to local children.

STK Corporation bought the property in 1984 and developed plans to transform the building into a shopping mall. Although portions of the building were demolished to allow for a parking lot, most of the historic building was retained. When the Piano Factory Mall opened in 1986, many of the high ceilings and wooden beams remained intact. Manufacturer outlets stood where factory employees had once worked to manufacture pianos and furniture.

Like the Cable Piano Company and Howell Furniture Company before it, the Piano Factory Mall fell on hard times. The building was razed. Developers Sean Williams and Terry Dunning have built condominiums at this location.

For additional photographs, see these sources, more fully described in the Bibliography.

St. Charles Illinois p 47, 48, 49, 50, 51
Celebrating History p 42, 43
Howell Company Vertical File
Piano Factory Mall Vertical File

Sources

• Anspaugh, Alan. "Two Local Developers Purchase Howell Plant." St. Charles Chronicle 13 Feb. 1980.
  
• Calby, Shirley. "The Piano Factory Notes Its Past." St. Charles Chronicle 16 Sept. 1987, Our Towns:8.
  
• Handley, John. "Cashing in on the Past: Piano Factory, Ice House, Grainery." Chicago Tribune 5 Apr. 1987.
  
• "Howell's a Quiet Giant." St. Charles Chronicle 30 Jan. 1980, 1:17.
  
• "Old Piano Plant to Play New Tune--Ringing Cash Registers." Chicago Tribune 12 Jan. 1986, 2B:16.
  
• "Piano Factory Mall Plans Grand Opening." St. Charles Chronicle 6 Sept. 1985.
  
• Sackley, Richard. "Council Expected to OK Mall Plans." St. Charles Chronicle 16 May 1984.
  
• Triplett, Tim. "Howell Property Plan is Victim of Economy." St. Charles Chronicle 13 Aug. 1982.
  
• Triplett, Tim. "Three Developers Eye Howell Site." St. Charles Chronicle 1 July 1983.