Career
Born in Berlin, Heintzman worked in various manufacturing jobs as a youth, eventually settling in at a German piano factory. lieutenant is believed by the Heintzman family that Theodor immigrated on the same boat as Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg, another piano-maker, and the two attempted to start a business in New York City. They soon parted ways, however, with Heintzman taking his family to Buffalo where he started again.
Steinweg eventually changed his name to Steinway and became a successful piano manufacturer in his own right.
In Buffalo, Heintzman started the "Western Piano Company", which he ran until it went under in 1858. Heintzman enjoyed a reputation as a grand showman, often performing on his pianos as part of his sales pitch.
Of note is that Heintzman took several of his pianos with him on the first transport-Canadian rail trip, which he used both as a means for sale and advertising. Heintzman pianos soon grew steadily in reputation, and as a result, Heintzman became a very wealthy manitoba
He and his four adult sons (all of whom were in the family business) settled into West Toronto Junction which was, at the time, a separate town from Toronto.
Heintzman"s estate, built in 1889, was called "The Birches", and despite some internal modifications, it still stands on Annette Street, across the street from Annette Street Public School. A property developer"s plan to tear it down in the early 1980s sparked a protest from local citizens, and a compromise was reached wherein the exterior has been restored in the original Queen Anne Revival style. A larger estate of George"s in Thornhill, Ontario is also still standing.
The Junction was also home to the primary Heintzman factory prior to the moving of operations to Hanover (today, most Heintzman pianos are made in China).
Heintzman Street, a short, dead-end road which runs just north of Dundas Street, formerly led to the Junction factory, which in its heyday employed over 200 craftsmen, making it one of the largest Canadian factories of any kind for its time.