- April 18, 2024
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The top over the piano can be removed. Photo by Wayne Grant
The 1924 Steinway and Sons piano once was in the Ormond Hotel. Photo by Wayne Grant
A part of Ormond Beach history is looking for a home.
A Steinway and Sons grand piano, model L, once filled the ballroom of the Ormond Hotel with music. Patricia Mickels, a pianist and singer, bought the piano in 1969, and it has remained in her beachside home all these years. She died Oct. 24 at the age of 86, after a lifetime of music, and her family now wishes to sell the piano.
Did John D. Rockefeller, who died in 1937, once enjoy its music? It’s possible, because the piano was built in 1924. But the present owner does know how long it was in the historic hotel at the corner of East Granada Boulevard and John Anderson Drive, which opened in 1888 and was demolished in the 1992.
Just as the mahogany-finished piano likely livened up the hotel ballroom, it was the centerpiece for a lot of get-togethers through the years, according to Mickles’ daughter, Cindy Watkins.
“She had wonderful parties at her house,” Watkins said. “I remember so many family dinners.”
Mickels had a top made for the piano, and placed stools around it so it became a piano bar. Family photos show the top, which can be removed, filled with food for gatherings.
Mickels was a professional musician in the area, performing at a nightspot called the Flame Lounge on Mason Avenue in the 1960s.
“She had a beautiful voice,” her daughter said.
What’s the next stop for the piano that’s been providing music in Ormond Beach for decades?
Watkins can be reached at 453-6070 or [email protected].
