FOLEY – Downtown Foley lit up Thursday night with strings of LED lights outlining the city’s historic buildings.
During Foley Main Street’s monthly Third Thursday event, lights placed on downtown building facades were turned on at 6 p.m.
Third Thursday participants watched along West Laurel Avenue as the lights came on in the early evening.
Mayor Ralph Hellmich said the lights are part of the continuing effort to show residents and visitors the attractions of historic downtown Foley.
“It’s just another way that we’re continuing to improve our downtown,” he said. “The city, our businesses and Foley Main Street have done a great job improving this vital area of Foley and this is another way to help show that off to people.”
Since fall, Foley business owners have been placing strings of lights on downtown buildings. The city provided the lights and automatic sensors used to turn the illumination on and off at sunset and sunrise.
Foley Main Street coordinated the project. Darrelyn Dunmore, Foley Main Street executive director, said many people and agencies worked together on the effort.
“We are grateful for the city’s initiative in bringing this lighting project to life, a long-time goal of both Main Street and the city,” Dunmore said. “Along with the efforts of Frances Holk-Jones and the Historic Commission, the city was able to bring this vision to life. Now Downtown Foley reflects the warmth and welcoming spirit we’ve always known it to have.”
The Edison bulbs used for the project bring a traditional antique look to accent historic areas. The lamps are designed to create a warm glow reminiscent of early America that benefits the downtown business district.
At a discussion of the project earlier in the month, Wayne Dyess, Foley executive director of infrastructure and development, said the lights will help create a downtown environment that encourages economic development without making changes to Foley’s many historic buildings.
“We feel like this will bring some vibrancy to the downtown,” Dyess said. “At the same time, you’ll never see them during the day. They’re not permanently affixed to the buildings. You’ll still see the architecture of the buildings, but at night, that architecture will still stand out.”
He said many historic Southern cities, such as Charleston, South Carolina and St. Augustine, Florida, have similar lighting projects.
“It’s something that’s commonly done to create this vibrancy,” Dyess said. “We’ve got buildings that are being utilized, that are historic, and we’re getting investment in these buildings for upkeep.”
“Historic downtown is not meant to just be museums to look at, but to enjoy, and to inspire additional economic activity downtown. That’s our goal with this. One of our goals is to create an environment downtown where there’s economic activity. We’ve got the Colt Grill coming in, some other things like that,” he added.
The Colt Grill Barbecue and Spirits Restaurant opened Thursday in one of downtown Foley’s historic buildings. The restaurant is located in the 1925 Foley Bakery building. Colt Grill also operates four restaurants in Colorado.
Prior to being renovated, the Foley Bakery building had been closed since 2007.