Wandering Around Downtown

It's been a while since I walked around downtown Omaha.  I spent a couple days over the last two weeks walking around and catching up with the new art in the area.

Gene Leahy Slides (Not New But Very Cool)

After some lunch I walked over to the Gene Leahy Mall (think Washington Mall instead of shopping mall).  The main feature of the mall is a large waterfall fountain at the north end that feeds into a long and narrow pond that eventually joins an even bigger public pond.  This time of year the mall's fountains are turned off and the water is frozen.

I wasn't alone on my circumnavigation of the mall.  The mall provides a nice place to walk during people's lunch breaks.  I passed a couple getting their photos taken (an engagement perhaps), a father and young son yelling 'ECHO' as they walked under the 13th street bridge, and small crowds walking off their lunches and talking about office politics.

The latest addition to the mall, I discovered, were new benches around the Gene Leahy Mall .  Each bench is unique and each one has an artistic flair.  One my favorites is the screaming man below.  Pictures of some of the other benches can be found here.

Hold Your Hands Up And Say Hey!

I passed the father and son on the other side (we were walking in opposite directions).  The boy was going down the slide.  He was having fun.  I know because I've gone down the slide before.  It's fun.  Trust me.  They've improved the sliding experience by adding a fun bench nearby:

Blaaahhh!

I need to make it a point to visit the mall more often. The new public art keeps catching me by surprise and life needs a little pleasant surprise every now and then.