New downtown stage offers venue for street artists

Just call it Amen Corner.

A downtown businessman, with the blessing of Uptown Columbus Inc., and the city, has transformed a large planting area into a performance stage that he hopes brings more life to one of the city’s busiest corners.

And it comes complete with a reclaimed church pew.

Buddy Nelms, who owns two downtown restaurants, a bike shop and other enterprises at in the vicinity of Broadway and 11^th Street, has been talking to Uptown Columbus President Richard Bishop for about two years about using the planter at the southeast corner of 11^th and Broadway in a different, more interactive way.

“We’re hoping to make this an outlet for artists,” Nelms said Tuesday afternoon as people stopped to look at the space.

He also is trying to make it more inviting as a gathering spot. A nearly 14-foot oak church pew was bolted to the edge of the platform on Tuesday. It serves a dual purpose, Nelms said.

“First, it is there for safety as a barrier, but you can also use it to sit around,” Nelms said.

The pew was found at a Columbus junkyard for $80, but Nelms has no idea where it came from.

“That’s something you can do, see if people can tell us where this pew came from,” Nelms said.

The pew was treated to help it weather the elements.

“But we also made this to be used and worn out,” Nelms said. In the coming days large planters with plants will be placed as Nelms rounds out the space. The plan is to put portable tables on it, but move them for performances.

Bishop said this was a demonstration project, entirely funded by Nelms, who said the exact cost is not yet known.

“We want to see how this works,” Bishop said. “When nobody is performing on it, people can sit there and have a cup of coffee.”

The platform is in front of Iron Bank Coffee Shop, a business Nelms does not own. But he does own the building housing it.

It was one of the few downtown planting areas that did not have a tree.

“It had some plants in it, but you couldn’t really put a tree in because a concrete substructure under it would not allow that to happen” Nelms said.

Bishop said this should be an improvement.

“Those bushes were overgrown and not in good shape,” he said. “Once we see how this one works, we can look at replicating it in other parts of uptown.”

For now, Nelms hopes the prime real estate draws street performers.

“We wanted this space to be welcoming,” Nelms said. “We have a lot of the music students at CSU who perform inside, and we are hoping this space will encourage them to come outside.”

There is also a practical reason for using the space in a different way, Nelms said.

“This is the kind of activity that makes an area safer,” Nelms said. “The more people you have around, the safer it is. And you also get an outlet for artists.”

This story was originally published October 11, 2016 at 4:19 PM with the headline "New downtown stage offers venue for street artists."