Akron is ready to flip the switch on Lock 4 — both figuratively and literally.
The concrete-and-brick downtown space, tucked below street level, overlooks the Ohio & Erie Canal and a small waterfall.
It’s an intimate gathering place that’s filled with the sounds of rushing water.
But for years, it’s been a forgotten area, with much more attention focused on the neighboring Lock 3 park.
Those days are over.
The Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition and John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will host a special lighting ceremony shortly after 5 p.m. Friday to show off the improved space.
They also will celebrate new lighting and planters on the pedestrian bridge that carries the Towpath Trail over state Route 59.
The lighting ceremony coincides with the two-day Harvest Fest, which runs 5 to 8 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at Lock 4, which is located near the intersection of South Main Street and West Bowery Street.
The event will include live music, food trucks, craft vendors, interactive children’s art, games and a showing of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory — the original 1971 Gene Wilder version — at 6 p.m. Saturday.
There also will be free hot chocolate, hot apple cider, popcorn and s’mores.
In addition to lights placed in the small trees and lights focused on the water, Lock 4 will be filled with Adirondack chairs, tables, colorful furniture and fire pits.
It’s part of the ongoing effort to get workers from downtown to stray out of their office buildings and to provide beautiful settings for people traveling along the Towpath Trail through the urban landscape.
The space captured the attention of designers, who tried to beautify the area with lighting.
“This is a gem to me in Akron,” said David Fierabend, principal of Groundswell Design Group in Philadelphia, which designed the changes.
Groundswell focused lights on the rushing water to highlight its significance.
“Water is magical,” said Dan Rice, president and chief executive officer of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition. “People seek it out in every community.”
In the past, the community turned its back on the waterway instead of embracing it. Several benches there face away from the water.
There’s also a “No Wading” sign stamped into the concrete, even though there is a fence blocking everyone from entering or getting close to the water.
The project is part of the larger Akron Civic Commons effort, which involves improving the public spaces downtown along the Towpath Trail and making the entrances into the city more inviting.
“There’s a whole lot more city to go,” Kyle Kutuchief, local program director for the Knight Foundation, said about the ongoing effort.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ .