Photography

The Piano Men
An essay by Rachel Rogala

It is a cold, rainy day. The ACME Piano Company building is a couple weeks away from being turned over to its new owners. In time, the four-story building will be transformed into luxury condominiums in Philadelphia’s Queen Village district. ACME’s garage, where the moving truck slept at night will be knocked down and turned into a parking lot for condo tenants.

Although the building is practically empty — except for some paintings, which no longer hang, antique rolls of music that once fit in player pianos, but now can be sold on Ebay, and a giant, iron safe that was there even before ACME was — Willie the piano mover waits by the two manual-dial phones.

No one is calling, and no one will call. He knows this, and yet he sits by two phones (keeping one off the hook, because “he doesn’t want to be bothered”). It was 53 years ago when Willie and his friend walked by ACME Pianos. A thriving piano-selling and piano-moving company located in Philadelphia, ACME — as well as its owner, Joe Vidas, needed a couple of strong guys to get pianos to their proper locations.

“I was 19 years old — a handsome guy,” says Willie. “Joe asked me and my friend to move a lamp post. It was nine o’clock in the morning and I have been here ever since.”

ACME was a family-run business. From Joe, his brothers, and his sisters who Willie says, “were big women who moved pianos in their slacks” to his son Joe Jr., everyone had their time when they participated in the day-to-day activities. Willie talks of people from the neighborhood who couldn’t afford a piano of their own, but who would stop by ACME, sit at one of the pianos for sale and play all day long.

The day when the last big shipment of pianos was being sent out occurred a couple of months before the cold rainy day with Willie. On that day a woman named Delores, owner of a piano store in Atlanta, Ga. talks of her ventures into the piano business. Talking about Joe Sr., Delores says, “He is a saint. He helped us start our business — the only black family in the piano business.” When they couldn’t afford to buy pianos on their own, Joe helped them out. “He remembers everything,” she says. The last time she came to purchase pianos, Joe remembered her kids’ names and showed her pianos that she originally had wanted to buy. “Back then a grand piano was $600,” she comments.

Selling pianos enabled Delores to send her two children to college and as she says, “It all started because of Joe.” Sadly, illness has kept Joe, owner of ACME for almost 70 years, from being present at this last transaction.

In the beginning of January, 2002, closing occurred at ACME Pianos. The piano men turned over their place to the real-estate developers. No longer would there be a spot for Willie to answer non-ringing phones. There would be no more pianos to move. At 72 years of age, however, he was not willing to stop moving. Having moved pianos his entire life, he wasn’t sure what he would do next. Maybe he will apply for a job at a sandwich shop on South Street — “They are always looking for help,” he says.

Joe Vidas Sr. died on January 23, 2002.

Contact Information

1433 S. 10th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
e-mail:
www.chrismeck.com
Please contact artist for purchases, commissions, etc.

Artist Statement

My inspiration comes from preserving the present. I’ve been photographing craft based businesses that were once integral to our societies and are being replaced by an evolving supply and demand. Things that we value today will eventually disappear tomorrow. My goal is to document the fleeting present.

As our society changes, so do our needs and desires. Over the past year, I’ve documented the closing of a South Philadelphia piano company. Pianos, once the central focus of home entertainment, were replaced by radio, then television. The old is replaced by the new. Handmade is replaced by mass production and mass consumption.

Capturing these moments in our history and freezing them in time inspire me. My hope is to preserve what remains of these businesses to reflect upon them in the future.

Education

1992
Boston University, Boston, MA
BS, Communications/Psychology

1996
The Art Institute of Philadelphia, PA

1997
The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA

2000, 2001
International Center of Photography, New York, NY

Honors and Awards

1997
First Place Color, Photographer’s Forum

Nikon, International Competition

Grants

Window of Opportunity, Leeway Foundation

Publications

Photographer’s Forum Annual
Stagnito Communications
Country Discoveries
Where Magazine
City (New York)
New York Observer
Dining and Entertainment
Ticketmaster/Citysearch.com
Philadelphia Magazine
Philadelphia Weekly
Philadelphia City Paper
Real Philly
PA Wine Association
Philadelphia Tribune

Professional Experience

1996 – present
Freelance photographer, Philadelphia, PA

1999 – 2001
Citysearch.com, Philadelphia, PA
Staff Photographer

Selected Exhibitions

2002
ACME Piano, Silicon Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

76th Annual International Competition: Photography,
The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA