By Samantha Smith
David Grohl Alley in Warren has been revamped to become a more welcoming and safe atmosphere for those walking and driving through. Chromaticity co-founders John Galvin and Andrew Boyer have been working on this project since July and completed it Tuesday, Sept. 29.
The alley is named after Foo Fighters frontman David Grohl, who was born in the area. The attraction was officially opened as David Grohl Alley in 2009. While the alley was filled with artwork dedicated to the singer, it was dimly lit and not very welcoming for those walking by at night. The city of Warren sought to make the alley a more welcoming place.
With the idea of lighting up the alley in mind, Galvin went to BRITE Energy Innovators to bring everything to life. After talking with the CEO of BRITE, Rick Stockburger, the plan for construction was underway.
Daniel Sylak, marketing and events specialist at BRITE Energy Innovators, said brightening up the alley would not only be a great way to show Warren’s support for Grohl, but it could also bring a sense of safety for people walking through, especially at night.
“It’s all about creating something for the community that they can enjoy,” he said. “Aside from the super fun aspects of it, it’s supposed to make the alley safer for people to walk … so that there is less worry walking through a dark alley.”
With a lot of projects, though, come challenges. One challenge while working on the alley, Sylak said, was the finding fundraising necessary to make the project happen.
“Between the time John pitched the idea to the CEO Rick Stockburger and working on it, we had about a month to do fundraising. So a lot of the fundraising came from community partners,” he said.
Another challenge facing the alley was the height of the beams holding the LED lights, Galvin said. This caused them to fall a day behind in the installation of the lights.
“The height requirement was a big thing we tried to focus on,” he said. “It ended up not working out the first time … A garbage truck came and hit the first beam and that was a whole day behind. We had to raise the entire structure up nine inches just to get it within the height of the garbage truck.”
In the end, Galvin wants to see how people react to what the finished product of the alley looks like.
“I just want to see people’s faces light up when they see it,” he said. “Yesterday, actually, I think we had four or five people come through and take photos of the lights already … So it’s getting a lot of attention and it’s like half done, so I think that’s really cool that just to see half of it is what people are already enjoying it.”
For more information on Chromaticity and its work, go to chromaffects.com, as well as brite.org for more information on BRITE Energy Innovators.
