There’s a street piano in downtown Raleigh. Yes, it’s there for you to play.

Shrouded in black, taller than some children and tucked into a corner on City Plaza downtown, the covered object is out of place.

But what’s underneath is a musical treat for the brave who dare look under the cover.

In an attempt to make downtown Raleigh a little bit more fun, the city placed a piano along Fayetteville Street on Friday afternoon. The hope is that it will stay there for at least a few months and that passersby will play a tune or stop to listen.

“It’s a toy,” said Jen Baker, the city’s downtown coordinator. “I hate to refer to a great musical instrument like that as a toy, but it’s really just for fun.

“It’s just another opportunity to interact,” Baker said. “It’s not social media. It’s real life. And it’s one more way to enjoy downtown Raleigh.”

Before city staff could load the piano stool off the truck, Kristeena Yates started to play. She’d just finished her shift at nearby Jimmy John’s and one of her coworkers watched behind her.

Yates also plays the guitar, and she insists she only dabbles with the piano.

“There is a piano up here,” Earl Jones said as he walked along the street.

Jones plays guitar, bass and keyboard and sometimes performs downtown for free. He’d like to make some money, he said, but he wasn’t willing to pay the city for a busking permit.

“I think it’s cool,” he said of the piano. “It’d be great if people want to play the piano and bring a guitar and bass out here.”

Raleigh bought two pianos from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore for $175. While one is on Fayetteville Street, the other will be painted by the Glenwood South Neighborhood Collaborative and placed in that part of downtown.

Anyone who wants to donate more musical instruments for downtown can use the social media hashtag #TeamDowntownRaleigh or email teamdowntownraleigh@raleighnc.gov.

This story was originally published August 17, 2018 at 3:40 PM.