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William Wallace Kimball (1828-1904) was an Iowa real estate broker who moved to Chicago in 1857. That same year he founded the Kimball Piano Company, beginning with only four pianos. He sold these at a profit and progressed from there, selling pianos manufactured in the east and shipped to his store. Before the Great Chicago Fire, he had a store in the Crosby Opera House. He later moved to State and Adams Streets. In 1877, Kimball decided to manufacture his own pianos to keep down the cost of the final product. In 1881, he opened his own factory and began churning out around 100 pianos and organs every week. Kimball Avenue (3400W) is named after him.
