Hiram Walker family’s baby grand has new home at Windsor City Hall
If you’re an ivory tickler with an appreciation for history, Windsor City Hall might be a good place to visit.
A vintage Toronto-made Heintzman baby grand piano owned by two of Hiram Walker’s grandsons was introduced to the public in the lobby of Windsor City Hall Friday with a recital by a University of Windsor music student.
The piano appeared at city hall a month ago after the Christmas tree came down.
It was given to the city by Beach Grove Golf and Country Club.
“We moved it here, it had to be acclimatized to this space before we could bring a tuner in and tune the piano, which is why it just sat there for a month,” Mayor Drew Dilkens said.
“We’re really here to make history by bringing history back to life.”
The piano was bought in the mid1920s by brothers Harrington Edward Walker and Hiram Holcomb Walker, who were also charter members of Beach Grove Golf and Country Club — which is where the piano ended up until recently, save for an “absence of unknown duration.”
“Let me tell you, the piano is legendary,” Dilkens said.
“The whisky stains, the small cracks, the scratches under the lid give us all the clues we need to get a sense of the storied and colourful past — as this served as endless hours of entertainment to countless guests in our city over the past 95 years.”
At Friday’s recital, Samuel Fedele, a first-year music student at the University of Windsor’s School of Creative Arts, performed Bach’s Prelude in B Flat, Chopin’s Nocturne in E Minor, Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag and a tune known as the Canadian Club Drinking Song.
“I’ve played quite old instruments before but not in a city hall before,” said Fedele, who is from Battle Creek, Mich.
“It’s a good piano, I think there’s still some life in it. It could use some work. It’s good.”
Pamela Morse, the granddaughter of Harrington Edward Walker and the great-great granddaughter of Hiram Walker, came to the recital from her home in Grosse Pointe, Mich., with her husband Tony.
“We’re here to enjoy this piano I’ve never heard of before,” said Morse.
Dilkens said the piano is wellknown locally.
“Every professional that we reached out to to help get it ready for this performance, everyone from the piano mover, to the tuner, to the University of Windsor music professor Dr. Philip Adamson, everyone had a story about it,” said Dilkens.
“As soon as they heard of its origins or when they saw it in person, they all said without fail, ‘Oh, I know this piano.’ It was like an old friend that they had become reacquainted with.”
Dilkens said anyone is welcome to visit the lobby at city hall and play the piano, provided the nearby council chambers are not in use.
“The piano has been an important part of our community for nearly a century and is yet another important link to the ongoing story of the Walker family contributions to our city, which has shaped everything from our history, our economy, our neighbourhoods, our architecture and local culture,” Dilkens said.