Downtown pop-up breathes new life into East Cherry Street alleyway

Downtown Columbus has a pop-up event that serves as the perfect "cherry on top" as summer wraps up.

In mid-August, Downtown Columbus Inc. transformed the East Cherry Street alleyway, between 16-Bit Bar + Arcade and the now closed Hadley's Bar + Kitchen, into a public space with colorful outdoor furniture, yard games, art and programming, including live music from local musicians on select Fridays and Saturdays until Sunday, Oct. 13.

The pop-up is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and from noon to 10 p.m. on weekends.

Madison Cole, director of communications at Downtown Columbus Inc., said the alley activation initiative came from the nonprofit's 2022 Downtown Strategic Plan, which was developed with input from residents and community members and set goals for the growth of the area, including 40,000 residents and 10 million visitors annually by 2040.

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Highlighting the pop-up's ideal location, with close proximity to classic Columbus establishments like Little Palace and Dirty Frank's , Cole said the space is meant to serve as an extended patio space for residents and guests to linger, grab a DORA beverage , relax and enjoy the atmosphere.

"We always talk about Downtown as being a vibrant place," Cole said. "The Cherry Pit does (vibrancy) so literally with color — you walk by and you see places alive and thriving — I think that energy is something that is essential and a very deep part of what Downtown is.

"It's very cool to see this really underutilized alley be transformed into something that reflects that energy of Downtown so beautifully."

elim@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Downtown pop-up breathes new life into East Cherry Street alleyway