Key of gee whiz! Merton hits the mall tonight

The artist-outfitted pianos that the Downtown Denver Partnership placed on the 16th Street Mall last November were such a hit that ten of them returned this summer for a command performance. And while they were initially supposed to stay there just through June, the gig kept getting extended, and extended...

By Patricia Calhoun

September 1, 2010

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

The artist-outfitted pianos that the Downtown Denver Partnership placed on the 16th Street Mall last November were such a hit that ten of them returned this summer for a command performance. And while they were initially supposed to stay there just through June, the gig kept getting extended, and extended -- first through the Biennial of the Americas, then through the Taste of Colorado, allowing for tonight's gig by Merton, the YouTube phenom of PianochatImprov who's slated to tickle the ivories at 16th and Welton streets from 7 to 10 p.m.

"It's been a learn-as-you go process for us," says Sarah Neumann, communications manager for the Partnership. "Our team is still trying to figure out when to pull the pianos off and if they should go back out during the holidays (the issue of snow keeps resurfacing)."

The pianos were not part of the mammoth 16th Street Plan Steering Committee study of mall options that ultimately decided... to leave things pretty much as they are. From a traffic-flow standpoint, at least. "There will still be plenty of changes," Neumann says, and those changes were outlined at a final public hearing on the project last week. "It was the wrap-up of an eighteen-month process," she notes. "It went really well."

Finale.

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.

Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

Contact: Patricia Calhoun

Follow:

Facebook: patricia.calhoun.927