An upright piano initially destined for a Webster Street apartment has found new life on the sidewalk, where passersby are being encouraged to tickle its ivories.
The piano is located in front of 106 Webster, on the east side of the street, between Haight and Waller. Its owner tells Haighteration:
“My roommates and I got a piano for the house and, lucky us, it doesn’t fit through our skinny front door. [We] were thinking of making it the Lower Haight community piano. It has been in front of our house for a couple days and about every half hour we get neighbors walking by and playing.”
The only rules: “Play it, don’t take it, and close the keys when finished!”
This reminds us of an ongoing art project called Play Me I’m Yours, which has been temporarily installing public pianos in cities around the world since 2008. According to its website, the project “disrupts people’s negotiation of their city and invites the public to engage with, activate and take ownership of their urban environment.”
Given the many musicians and artists in the Lower Haight, public pianos like this could become quite popular additions to the neighborhood. Or, depending on how (and when) they’re used, they could become extremely annoying. Guess we’ll just have to see how this one plays out! Stay tuned…