Hello all,  I've been reading this thread on concrete pianos with
much interest; I only hope I never see one.  Just this afternoon
(June 27, 2004), I happened to catch the episode, mentioned by Glen
R. Perye, Jr., in 040623 MMD, of "History Detectives" on the local
Public Broadcasting System TV channel, which had a segment on a
concrete house.  I only want to add that a full transcript of this
show is available as a PDF file; see the mention near the bottom at
http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/case/201_index.html.

Apparently, the house was poured in a giant mold all at once (not a
tilt-up), and the owner literally needed a jackhammer to modernize it.
Less than 100 of these concrete houses were built, but that street in
Union, New Jersey, street had several, all (almost) exactly alike.

The "editorial cartoon" that Mr. Perye mentions is actually an old
strip of "Bringing Up Father" where the mother (Maggie) is depicted
sharpening knives on the concrete upright, and the grandfather (can't
remember his name) has to use a dolly to wheel the concrete easy chair
up to the fire!  This would be a great strip to reprint in MMD, if
someone could only find it.  They also showed an actual Edison factory
photograph of three or four console model disc phonographs in white
concrete cases.  I wonder where they are now.

As an icing on the cake, this well-produced show had a good musical
score by a Peter Buchman, I believe, which included a recording of
the Six Brown Brothers doing "Smiles and Chuckles" (rag), and a great
rag performed by a concert band which I have never heard before.
Unfortunately, the web site did not tell what tunes were used, and
did not even list the name of the above musical director (I saw it on
the closing credits).

"History Detectives" is a great show, and in an hour or so of time,
they also managed to squeeze in segments on a civil-war era submarine(!)
and the authenticity of "Red Cloud's Peace Pipe".  For you history buffs
on MMD, this is a great show.  Who knows what might be featured on there
next?  Check your local TV listings.

Sincerely,
Andrew Barrett