The player piano and reproducing Ampico mechanism was originally designed by Charles Fuller Stoddard (1876–1958) with Dr. Clarence Hickman joining the company in the mid-1920s.

By the end of 1932, Ampico suffered economic difficulties and was finally merged with the Aeolian Company, manufacturer of player pianos and organs.

Originally named Despatch after the transportation company that spawned several dozen car shops in the area, the village of East Rochester was also home to a musical manufacturing giant for the better part of the 20th century.

Nestled in between the New York Central Railroad tracks and Commercial Street, the 250,000 square-foot edifice designed by Henry Ives was the first industrial building in the United States to be constructed from reinforced concrete.

The instrument's popularity reached its peak that decade thanks to a growth in prosperity and an increased interest in music stimulated by phonographs and radio.