A colorfully painted upright piano was only in place about a half an hour in downtown La Grange before it attracted passersby to sit down and tickle the ivories.
Employees from the village’s Public Works Department moved the piano Tuesday from Anderson’s Bookshop to the fountain plaza next to Village Hall.
The upright was painted in a store window during July by artist Larry Law before it was moved to the public space.
Nancy Cummings, executive director of the La Grange Business Association, said the instrument is intended to inspire impromptu concerts as well as be the focal point of scheduled concerts throughout the rest of the summer.
The painted piano is called “Jazz in the Sunset.”
“It’s reminiscent of a group of jazz musicians playing around Jackson Square in New Orleans while appreciating a beautiful sunset,” Cummings said.
She said the piano complements the theme of this year’s summer art project in the village, It’s Cooler in La Grange, which features 30 whimsically designed insulated pine coolers displayed in front of local businesses. The art project is sponsored by Fornaro Law and the village of La Grange.
Mariyah Shah of Bolingbrook and Ashley Yong of Darien were meeting in La Grange for lunch when they stopped so Shah could tap out “Yankee Doodle Dandy” on the piano.
“I wish I knew more,” said Shah, who never took piano lessons. “I can play ‘The Wheels on the Bus.'”
Yong applauded her friend’s effort and said she likes the idea.
“It brings the community together and gives La Grange a small town feel,” she said.
“I think it’s creative and a fun way for people to gather,” said Kate Thompson of La Grange, whose daughters and a friend stopped to play the piano.
Even though she and her friends don’t know how to play the piano, Kylie Thompson, 9, said the vibrantly hued instrument was too hard to pass by.
More Top Picks Best Combination Whetstones
“I think people will like it because it’s painted and if you don’t have a piano you can get the feeling of using the keys,” she said.
Twitter @triblocalam
Scheduled performances
Noon Aug. 3 — Students of the American Music Institute
7:30 p.m. Aug. 3 — Tank and the Beez
7:30 p.m. Aug. 16 — Students of the American Music Institute
7:30 p.m. Aug. 17 — Side Project
7:30 p.m. Aug. 24 — Tank and the Beez
7:30 p.m. Aug. 31 — Tank and the Beez