(Host) The city of Plattsburgh is trying to solve a musical mystery. Officials in West Hollywood, California recently contacted Plattsburgh Mayor Daniel Stewart to tell him about an antique piano that was discovered in a famous saloon.
The piano was found in the J. Sloan Tavern in West Hollywood, which dates back to 1919 and was the oldest operating saloon in California before it closed recently. The wife of playwright Neil Simon purchased it with the idea of turning it into a shoe store.
As the building was being cleaned out, a piano was found with a plaque attached that reads, “Bijou Theater, Plattsburgh, New York.” The piano was built in Vermont in 1846 and was in the Bijou Theater in Plattsburgh in 1926.
But little is known about the Bijou Theater’s history. Local historians and long-time residents of Plattsburgh can’t recall any theater with that name. Plattsburgh officials are working on acquiring the piano.