To kill a little time while visiting downtown Akron, friends Amber Lamp and Cullen McEaneney hopped into one of the new hanging chaise lounge chairs set up Wednesday along South Main Street.
They were shocked at how comfortable the hammocks are.
“This is fantastic,” Lamp, 36, said.
“We need one of these things in our house,” McEaneney, 30, added.
The Downtown Akron Partnership, with the support of Gehl Studio and the Akron office of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, put up the lounge chairs as part of its ongoing effort to promote economic and social activity in the city center.
The overall goal is to bring more people downtown.
In addition to the hanging chairs — complete with umbrellas to protect from the sun — there was a 10-foot inflatable marble for rolling, an over-sized chess set, checkers, neon green Comfy Chairs, cornhole, cafe tables with fresh flowers, table tennis and an Akron Coffee Roasters pop-up shop set up along the street between Canal Park and the Akron-Summit County Public Library.
The activities began Wednesday and will continue through 8 p.m. Saturday.
A pop-up evening beer garden also is planned from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, along with the outdoor showing of the movie Hocus Pocus at 7 p.m. Friday.
Suzie Graham, president and chief executive officer of the Downtown Akron Partnership, said the temporary games and seating are part of a low-cost experiment to see what triggers more people to enjoy downtown.
If any of them prove successful, the city can consider adding them permanently, she said.
The games, pop-up shops and seating ideas came out of a workshop led by Gehl and attended by government, business and nonprofit leaders.
But Downtown Akron Partnership also wants to hear feedback from the public.
It has poster boards set up along the street asking: “What else would you like to see on Main Street?” People can write down their answers.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the answers included a playground, zipline from Quaker Station to Lock 3, more places to eat and knocking down the Mayflower building.
Annie Phillips, 31, of Akron enthusiastically wrote down several possibilities, including a trampoline park, haunted house, skate park and water park.
“I think trying to get people into the city is a good thing,” she said.
For more details, go to: www.downtownakron/RCC.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ .