Right Now Downtown

WHAT EXACTLY?

What exactly do you love about me?

Isn’t that always the question?  It’s nice to be loved, but it’s nicer to know precisely what is so lovable about… downtown Columbus.

Who better to assess the lovable features of our downtown than hotel execs?  They get to see the city through the eyes of visitors from far-flung regions of the nation.  It lends a certain amount of objectivity to the perspective.

Leave it to the folks at Hyatt on Capitol Square to set the standard.  Reviewers at Priceline and Zagat place the hotel in the local top tenth percentile.  It’s n-i-c-e.  Bruce Flyer spent several years as the General Manager there before the corporation moved him up to Canada.  What does he miss the most about life here in the capital?  He says, “The biggest thing we miss is the small-town feeling you get while living in a big city.”  Columbus feels like home.

Intriguingly, the new Hyatt GM, Nancy Dudak, is already making similar observations about us.  She says, “The sense of neighborhood and neighborliness” is an amazing thing about the area… and her last stint was in the home of southern hospitality – Atlanta, Georgia.

As for the Hyatt’s guests, they’re pretty happy too.  A peek at the ratings and reviews shows high marks for the fitness room, great staff and stunning views.

Naturally, the view is stunning:  It’s downtown!

This guest blog is by Jerry Pierce and is the first of three blogs. Jerry Pierce has been providing homeless outreach services in the Columbus community for 20 years. On July 12, he began a thirty-day stay underneath the Short Street bridge in downtown Columbus, hoping that his actions will put a face on homelessness and better educate the general public about the issue.

Today marks the 16th day that I have been “living on the land.”  The days have been long.  Imagine having to figure out where to get your next meal, take a shower, go to the bathroom, or find a safe place to sleep every day.  My bones ache from the dampness.  I have had a fever and gotten little sleep.  I have lost my sense of time and feel isolated even when people are around me.  I worry about insects and animals that carry disease and try to eat my food.  I can only imagine what people feel like who have been homeless for months and even years.  I can understand why people use drugs to get through the days and nights.

Twenty years ago, homeless people were typically older men who may have been in the service and had alcohol problems.  Now many of the homeless individuals are younger.  Some have college educations.

I want people in Columbus to think every time they drive over a bridge, pass an embankment, or walk by a vacant house, that homeless people could be staying there.  If people want to help, they should give to organizations in our community that are committed to helping people get back on their feet.

The Market Maven is on vacation, so we’re doing our best to substitute for her while she galavants around England (we’re not bitter that we couldn’t go with her, but who would run the market?)   In the spirit of her previous interviews, we asked Sean Yoder a few questions about why he gets to spend time every week at Pearl Market.

Pearl Market Moment: Yoder’s 529 Plan from Downtown Columbus on Vimeo.

So while we were interviewing Sean, we didn’t have to look far for our next “moment.”   Right on.

Pearl Market Moment: Who needs Broadway? from Downtown Columbus on Vimeo.