29: Annenberg Community Beach House, Santa Monica

29: Annenberg Community Beach House, Santa Monica
Designed by: Frank Cubillos
Piano type: Full upright
Playability: Good, with one baf "F" key
Weather: 65°F, sunny
How I got here: Bicycle

Nearly a mile up the coast from The Santa Monica Pier was my penultimate street piano, the one at the Annenberg Community Beach House. It was seemingly out of the way, but fortunately I had my bike with me and rode up the beach bike path, the same bike path that has been my Summertime pastime since the early '90s, and my "gateway drug" into longer-distance bike riding.

I never knew of this place's existence until the past year or so (it opened in 2009). Apparently the beach house, despite its name, is a public facility run by the City of Santa Monica, open to all.

I had a little trouble finding the piano, but judging from the website, it was under a palm tree, so I had to look for a location with palm trees.

There weren't many people hanging out here, save for the people at a private reception next door at the Marion Davies Guest House (still part of the Annenberg facility).

Maybe because it wasn't yet Summer, and with very few people there except for the reception, there wasn't much interaction going on here, save for the older Pinoy security guard who scolded me for walking my bike towards the piano. Once I locked it in the bike racks several yards away towards the bike path, all was cool.

This piano was in a much better condition than the Pier piano, though it had a bad "F" key towards the upper half. Actually this was the only piano to have bird droppings adorn it. I guess that counts as an unintended part of its artwork, right?

To honor the beach and surfing culture, I played The Beach Boys' "Surfer Girl."