Georgia Street almost ready to host crowds again - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Georgia Street is about to be re-discovered as the gathering place of Indianapolis. Tens of thousands of Super Bowl fans crowded the area six months ago.

The Super Bowl was the coming out party for Indianapolis and, in particular, Georgia Street. It is much quieter now that the crowds have dwindled. Work on the second phase is expected to be completed in December. Workers have spent the past couple of months replacing loose and broken pavers, refinishing the wooden planks of the boardwalk, and even installing Roman shades for sunny days.

"We are really striving to make Georgia Street a destination," said Georgia Street director Melissa Thompson. "We're going to start doing some ongoing programming that will happen once a month. You know, you can come down to Georgia Street and have a good time, maybe have fun with your friends after work, or maybe during the afternoon. So we'll have some entertainment that will be happening on an ongoing basis."

That starts with outdoor cafes.

"Even Howl at the Moon, which has never had an outside presence, is building a room off the front of the building," Thompson said.

The Pub has already added outdoor seating. Owner Gordon Coke says the street is a joint effort between the city and the businesses located there.

"If they tried to do something once a month. Just do a big event, once a month, is a reason to come down and enjoy downtown," Coke said.

So Indianapolis Downtown Inc. is preparing to unveil "Second Thursdays," staging events to attract people downtown. The idea is modeled after other streets like Lincoln Road in Miami, Beal Street in Memphis or the Short North area in Columbus, Ohio.

You can also rent the street, block-by-block if you want, starting at $1,500 for a half-block up to $4,000 for a full block. The street is already booked for Brickyard weekend at the end of the month and Colts tailgate parties will occupy the space in the fall.

The Roman shades are retractable and officials say the temperature is ten degrees cooler underneath them. They also have a unique safety feature; if there are wind gusts above 30 miles an hour, they retract automatically.

"No Parking Anytime" signs have already been placed along Georgia Street on the cutouts, which were originally planned for parking, but that has now changed.

"With Public Safety and the Department of Public Works, we just decided it was too risky and in the best interest not to have parking down here," Thompson said.

So from now on, the emphasis will be on music, people and fun.

"I think it will add some excitement for people to come out and have a good time," Coke said.

The first Second Thursday is scheduled for August 9, to coincide with Devour Downtown and the Colts' preseason game with the Rams. Eyewitness News will broadcast live from Georgia Street on each Second Thursday at noon and 5 p.m.

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