It was a public piano aimed, in part, at preventing crime — but now the instrument itself has fallen prey to vandalism.
“Very unfortunately, the piano appears to have been tipped over,” said Coleen Harcourt with Downtown Calgary. “It’s very disappointing. There was a lot of great effort that went into creating the piano.”
Downtown Calgary has commissioned several public pianos in recent years, putting them out every summer in various spots around the core.
The instrument, damaged over the weekend, was designed as a tribute to the spirit of Calgarians after the 2013 flood.
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The group hoped all the pianos would help reduce crime by encouraging community spirit as people stopped to enjoy the music.
“It has certainly been a positive item in our community downtown,” Harcourt said. “Sad to see when something nasty happens to it.”
WATCH: Downtown Calgary commissioned the instrument from Moffat Pianos, which is shown being played in 2014.
Police said the vandalism is under investigation.
Downtown Calgary isn’t sure if repairs would make the piano playable again.
Several pedestrians in the area expressed regret over the destruction.
“That’s really horrible when you put public features out like that and they get taken away for no reason because someone can’t respect it enough,” said Cassandra Campeau.
“It’s a huge shame and that’s too bad,” added Sally Healy. “Why would people do that? I’ve seen lots of people playing it and they seem to enjoy it. I just think it’s sad.”
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