A Roaring '20s player piano from one of Tamaqua's well-known and popular hotels of the past has been donated to the Tamaqua Historical Society Museum by owners Dave and Judy Keller Johns.

The 1920 coin-operated nickelodeon, produced by 1920 Forrest Cunningham Piano Company, entertained patrons of Kellers Hotel, Tamaqua, for many years.The hotel at West Broad and South Railroad streets opened on Aug. 4, 1897, as the Hotel Moyer. In its long history, it also was known by other names, such as the Plaza Hotel and Valesak's Hotel.The piano was acquired by Judy Keller Johns from her parents after the closing of Keller's Hotel. According to Johns, the machine can be played manually or with the use of paper rolls. It also can be set up to function coin-operated at the drop of a quarter.Player pianos were a staple of clubs and hotels 90 years ago. The rise of the player piano grew with the rise of the mass-produced piano for the home in the late 19th and early 20th century.According to Wikipedia, sales peaked in 1924, then declined due to improvement in phonograph recordings of the mid-1920s. The stock market crash of 1929 virtually wiped out production of player pianos.The Tamaqua piano was moved from the Johns' residence on Friday. The unit will be given a complete restoration before making its debut at the reopening of the Tamaqua museum next year, according to Dale Freudenberger, president of the Tamaqua Historical Society.The museum is located just over one block west of the piano's original location.