Pioneer spirit...Hard work...Honesty and fair dealing...

the heritage A.F. Onofrio left to his successors.

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  In 1895 Angelo Filippo Onofrio immigrated from Italy to Chicago where he applied his trade working for the Lyon & Healy Piano Co. In 1898 he moved to Denver, Colorado where he started a piano business in a building behind his home. The city was a tiny provincial outpost on the fringe of civilization. The total population of the area was around 50,000. Income levels were well below the national mean and the biggest market for pianos consisted of saloons, bordellos, and the occasional rancher or miner who made good. 

  In 1900 he opened the Colorado Music Company in the Adams Hotel. Later he moved into his own building on 15th and Welton. Filippo's main lines were the Kroeger, Lyon & Healy and the Columbine Piano which was made exclusively for him by Steger & Sons in Chicago, Il. You can still find Columbine pianos throughout the Rocky Mountain Region. Having been in an arid climate for their entire existence, most of these pianos are in far better condition than other uprights that immigrated over the last hundred years.

  When Filippo's son Joseph graduated from high school in 1914, he went back to Chicago, to study piano building and perfect his skills as a piano technician. Upon returning to Colorado, Joe joined his father selling and servicing pianos. Angelo and his son covered a wide territory including Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico. Typically they would spend the summer and fall making a circuit, tuning pianos and selling new instruments in the booming gold mining towns and to the burgeoning establishments in the cities. They traveled the long distances by train, and then once in a populated area, by bicycle. When a piano was sold it was shipped by train to the nearest junction and then taken by horse and wagon to the purchaser.

  In 1928 Filippo died of asthma and one year later the great depression devastated the piano industry. Joe continued his father's business, but out of a much smaller location in north Denver. To supplement his piano business he entered politics and worked for the city of Denver as an assessor. He was later appointed by Mayor Ben Stapleton to head the Department of Motor Vehicles. In 1941, three months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the government curtailed the production of pianos and all American piano makers converted their factories to aid in the war effort.

  In 1946 piano production resumed and Joe opened a new store at 18th and Broadway, renamed the Joe Onofrio Music Co. His Son, Joe Jr. had just returned from service in the pacific theater and he opened a second location on 7th and Santa Fe. During the boom years following WWII their business prospered and in 1952 the father and son joined forces to open a single large store near the civic center. In 1962 Joe senior died at the age of 65, leaving Joe Jr. to carry on the family business. 

  Through the 60's the business continued to expand until it encompassed half a city block with showrooms, repair and refinishing facilities and a warehouse. Selling some of America's finest pianos such as Knabe, (official piano of the Metropolitan Opera), and the world famous Mason & Hamlin, Onofrio Piano had positioned itself as a leader in the Denver market. 

 In 1974 the business was forced to relocate when the city claimed the 1300 block of Broadway to make room for the new Colorado History Museum. Onofrios' current location at 1332 So. Broadway is the largest building of it's kind in the Rocky Mountain area, specifically designed for the display and remanufacturing of pianos.

After a long run as one of Denver's leading piano retailers, Onofrio Piano suffered several setbacks in the late eighties. First Joe Onofrio Jr. died unexpectedly in 1984 at the age of 61. Then in 1985 Aeolian, (the maker of Mason & Hamlin and Knabe), closed it's doors and Onofrio lost  it's major lines. The influx of Asian pianos during the 70's and 80's had devastated the American piano builders to such a degree that there were no new piano lines available. The final blow came when Colorado's energy business went into a steep slump, causing a state wide recession. An so, like many other piano businesses, in Colorado and across the country, Onofrio was looking at its options. This included diversifying with other musical instruments during this time.

  In 1991 Joe Onofrio III returned to manage the family business after a 10 year absence. He had  worked with his father as a technician in the 70's and 80's but left, after graduating from Regis University, to work in the bicycle industry. With no new product lines to represent, Onofrio ramped up the back room, to provide a steady supply of saleable used pianos.  He hired Marshall Luke, a talented local piano technician who had worked with Joe Jr. to reorganize the technical department. When he secured the Baldwin line in 1992 the company expansion shifted into overdrive. With Baldwin, "America's Best Selling Piano", to anchor the product mix, others were quick to join and Onofrio quickly regained it's market share. In the years from 1991 to 1998 sales increased 600% and once again, Onofrio was one of the region's leading piano retailers. 

  To handle the booming business, Onofrio has added several world-class technicians to ensure customer satisfaction with every piano. These include: Mike Routh, a Baldwin trained concert tuner and  technician for over 25 years; Tim Wirth, a concert tuner for over 13 years, PianoDisc factory trained installer, and Seiler factory trained technician; Ed Howes of Denver's famous Howes piano family; and Kris Kunze, tuner and rebuilder for over 11 years and technician for KUVO Studios' pianos. A qualified sales staff with over 100 years combined experience has also been assembled to ensure a pleasant, professional and educated buying experience.

  Currently, Onofrio Piano sells Bösendorfer, Estonia ,Pearl River ,Kohler Campbell , Pearl River and Wyman pianos. Representing manufacturers from around the world at every price point, Onofrio is sure to have the right piano from economically priced used spinets to new concert grands.