Omaha’s Old Market tests alley art concept
Omaha’s Old Market is known for its 19th century architect, modern cuisine, eclectic art galleries and unique shopping. But, its alleys offer a new opportunity to embrace the thousands of people who stroll through the area.
The Omaha Downtown Improvement District Association hosted its first Downtown Alley Alive May 1 as a pilot program for possible future endeavors.
“They are the forgotten pedestrian walkways,” said Holly Barrett, ODIDA’s executive director. “We believe that this is the exact point of this event, that alley activation and the idea that alleys are public spaces…people forget that their back door can be as active and vibrant. And we have seen it in a lot of our big cities in the last 10 years or so.”
Artists gave live demonstrations, music played and Brickway Brewery and Distillery opened its door to the alley, stretching lights above the area between 11th and 12th Streets at Jackson, in-between Upstream and Spaghetti Works eateries.
The alley was chosen over others in the 12-square block area because it was adaptable for this type of event, she said.
“There are several businesses that have back doors that open on to the alley that they have utilized for general purpose, not just for delivery,” Barrett said.
A heart-shaped mural has been attached to the alley side of Spaghetti Works, which took effort because of development requirements due to the historical status of the area, she said.
City study
The City of Omaha helped fund an analysis of the alleys in the Old Market, Barrett said. RDG, an architect firm, reviewed everything from the surfaces to lights to the different spaces, she said.
“They made recommendations for each alley, but also general ideas of things that could be done,” Barrett said. “Some places are highly suitable to murals. Some are not suitable at all, but perhaps would be a great place to maybe do an outdoor movie night or better consolidation.”
Renderings from the original alley analysis were placed on easels so that people could see ideas of what things could be, Barrett said.
“What would this compactor look like if we built a wall and planted flowers all over the wall?” she said. “What would this space look like if these lights were up all the time, you know? That kind of stuff.”
Alley art is popular in cities around the world, Barrett said. Alley art can be found regionally in cities such as Kansas City, Missouri, Bismarck, North Dakota, Rapid City, South Dakota, and LeMars, Iowa. Cheyenne, Wyoming, includes alley murals among its more than 70 murals.
“They’re so well-established almost around the world at this point that that they’re always crowd cruisers,” Barrett said. “We’re just trying to really capitalize on being able to spread the word about making those unseen or unsung public spaces more accessible, particularly to pedestrians.”
Couples, friends and families enjoyed the evening in the alley, with hands-on rock painting. It was like a throwback to my youth when we collected pet rocks.
Future plans
The May First Friday art event has been a longtime in the making, Barrett said.
“We’ve been talking about this for years and years and years, so things like dumpster consolidation, adequate lighting and that kind of stuff, those are the basis when we first started talking about this,” she said.
While there are no current plans to implement the program on a regular basis, Barrett said she believes there’s potential, not just for the Old Market, but other parts of Omaha.
“We are thinking of doing an event like this in another alley in downtown, but we’re also working with the other business improvement districts in the city to see if they would like to do one,” Barrett said.
In the meantime, Old Market art galleries and boutiques will continue to remain open late on each First Friday of the month.
