"Keys to the City," Denver

When I was in Denver, Colorado, last month to go shopping with my daughter for her wedding dress, I spent a day on the popular 16 Street Mall.  Built in 1982, the Mall is a mile long tree-lined, pedestrian promenade that runs through the center of Downtown and is lined with outdoor cafes, renovated historic office buildings, shops, restaurants and retail stores. Free shuttle buses cruise up and down the Mall seven days a week, making it very convenient for visitors to shop in many of the stores along the route.

Inspired by similar programs in London, Sydney, Sao Paulo and New York City, seventeen colorfully painted pianos were placed on the 16th Street Mall as part of the "Your Keys to the City," a public piano art program created by the Downtown Denver Partnership. Hand-painted by local artists, each piano has a theme and are available for the public to play from 8 am to 10 pm, seven days a week.

It was fun to see the variety of creatively painted pianos and listen to the people who stopped to play them. It definitely made the 16 Street Mall feel more intimate and friendly.You can read more about the pianos and the artists that painted them at this link.

I thought they made a pretty mosaic for "Mosaic Monday" event on Mary's blog The Little Red House, and "Blue Monday" event on Sally's blog Smiling Sally. Please visit both blogs and see the links of all the participating blogs for their happy events.