SPOKANE, Wash. — For David Heidel, the pianos in Riverfront Park are a labor of love.
Heidel is the project coordinator for those colorful pianos. He’s also the technician who makes sure the pianos are in good shape and in tune.
Those pianos wouldn’t be in the park without Heidel.
“I started looking around and seeing other cities that had something similar but not quite like this and I thought, you know, why doesn't Spokane have this,” he said.
He did some research and contacted the City of Spokane. They loved the idea.
“I contacted Music City and found out that they were interested in donating a piano, in fact, they donated two pianos now,” Heidel said.
Then, he talked to Spokane Falls Community College to see if they were interested in doing the artwork.
“So, after making all those connections, I took the piano and started refurbishing it to become an outdoor piano, repainting it and working on the inside and placing certain parts to make it weatherized. So that took several months," Heidel said.
Now, it’s his job to check on the pianos every couple of weeks.
"Number one to make sure the piano is still here and it didn't get tossed in the river. But I like to come down and, I mean, this is what it's all about is to watch people play it," he said.