Umbrella Alley Brightens The Sky Over Louisville

Sometimes  you have to look to the sky to breathe new life into an old space. That’s the idea behind Umbrella Alley, a collection of 185 colorful umbrellas hanging over an alleyway near the East Main Street corridor in downtown Louisville, just east of Canton. Developed by Louisville vice mayor and council member Rick Guiley and designed by local architect David Yeagley, the installation uses a pulley system to suspend the neon umbrellas above the oft-overlooked alleyway near Uptown Joe Coffee Shop and UnHitched Brewing Co. Although the installation may be temporarily replaced with string lights for the winter, there are plans to use the alley next summer to host outdoor events. For now, visitors can lounge beneath it on colorful chairs and snag a photo-op. “It’s just something different that people don’t ordinarily see in their everyday lives,” says designer Yeagley. “The colors with the blue sky and the sun — it’s kind of a magical place.” East Main Street, Louisville, facebook.com/umbrellaalley