Almost two centuries ago, the South End was thrust to the center of Boston’s thriving piano industry by the “elegant case designs and technical improvements” of renowned piano maker Jonas Chickering.

In 1852, after fire raged devastatingly through his old mill on Washington Street, Chickering began construction on a revolutionary new, steam-powered plant that would provide a home for his 400 employees who crafted as many as 60 Chickering-designed pianos a week.

Sadly, Chickering didn’t live to see the embodiment of his dream, as he passed away on December 8, 1853. The mayor of Boston and leading piano manufacturers marched with more than 800 people in Chickering’s funeral procession, while the city’s church bells tolled.

When it was completed in 1854, the Jonas Chickering Pianoforte was the second largest building in the world, after the United States Capitol, and the first to combine all aspects of the manufacturing of pianos under one roof.

A decade or so later, the Pianoforte played its part in shortening the Civil War by ceding some of its space to Spencer’s Repeating Rifle Co.—the company’s firearms were credited with hastening the end of the battle.

At the turn of the twentieth century, the giant building returned to its roots, when Arnold Dolmetsch and a small staff produced viols, lutes, harpsichords and clavichords within its white stone walls. In doing so, they planted the seeds from which Boston’s flourishing early music industry grew.

Fast forward now, to 1972, to see the factory transformed through the vision of Boston architects, Simeon Bruner and Leland Cott.

Wishing to preserve the integrity of the building as a factory and “fit the old and new together in a meaningful way,” Bruner/Cott sandblasted interior walls and columns and installed sheetrock partitions to contrast with exposed brick. They incorporated freight elevators, loading docks and outsized doors and installed large windows to flood the studios and apartments with natural light.

In February, 1974, the old piano factory emerged as the belle of the artist’s ball.

Conceived by the architects as affordable housing for artists, the Piano Craft Guild today retains the color and unconventionality of its artistic tradition, while offering innovative living spaces for urban professionals in an exotic, exhilarating environment.