Window Vinyl Installation Enhances Fifth Street’s Identity
by Erin Hawkins
Downtown Columbus has long been defined by the power of design. Along Fifth Street, often called the Avenue of the Architects, some of the community’s most significant architectural landmarks come together in one walkable corridor, creating a streetscape that tells the story of Columbus as a place shaped by creativity, collaboration, and civic ambition.
A new vinyl window installation on the former Chamber building at Fifth and Franklin streets is helping bring that story more visibly into the everyday experience of downtown.
The project directly supports Recommendation AP-08 from the Downtown 2030 Plan: to “enhance the identity of 5th Street as a destination for prominent architecture, design, and art with strategic interventions, enhancements, and programming.” Rather than viewing a vacant building as a challenge, Visit Columbus saw an opportunity to transform blank windows into a creative gateway that celebrates place, invites curiosity, and strengthens the identity of one of downtown’s most important corridors.
Facing Fifth Street, the installation highlights Columbus’s architectural legacy through photography by Hadley Fruits for Landmark Columbus Foundation. These images connect the building to the larger story unfolding along the Avenue of the Architects, where nationally recognized works of architecture, public art, civic spaces, and design excellence are all part of the pedestrian experience. A QR code invites residents and visitors to explore the full story of the Avenue of the Architects at VisitColumbusIndiana.com, extending the installation beyond the windows and into a deeper discovery of the city’s design heritage.
The installation also reflects the spirit of AP-8 by using art and design as tools for placemaking. “The Downtown 2030 Plan calls for strategic interventions that make Fifth Street more recognizable as a destination,” said Visit Columbus Executive Director Misty Weisensteiner. “This project adds visual interest to a prominent corner, improves the appearance of a vacant building while its future use is being determined, and reinforces the idea that downtown Columbus is not static. It is a living environment where architecture, art, history, and community activity continue to intersect”.
The project also builds on the creative momentum of the 2025 Exhibit Columbus installation Ellipsis on the building’s west side. In doing so, it demonstrates how temporary or low-cost interventions can have a meaningful impact on downtown identity. AP-08 emphasizes enhancements and programming that help Fifth Street become an even stronger destination, and this installation shows how thoughtful design can activate space, support wayfinding, and encourage people to look more closely at the city around them.
Most importantly, the project reinforces what makes Columbus distinctive. Here, architecture is not simply something to admire from a distance. It is part of daily life, part of the visitor experience, and part of the community’s shared identity. By bringing the Avenue of Architects directly into the streetscape, the new vinyl installation helps fulfill the Downtown 2030 vision while reminding everyone who passes by that in Columbus, design belongs to the whole community.
