Discovering Alley A

Sometimes, with all the hustle and bustle of people, it’s hard to notice the small changes while driving in downtown Columbia… and well a new street sign is no exception.

But nestled between Eighth and Ninth Street, more specifically right in between the building that houses the clothing store Breeze and an empty retail space, is a small alleyway where a new street sign stands: Alley A. It’s a street sign that has turned quite a few heads.

Behind this street sign is a story of how Columbia is growing and changing, and in ways some least expect it. After seeing the sign and the construction of a new business in the alleyway I wanted to speak with the owner of the realty business leasing the spaces out along the alleyway. Where did the street sign come from and how did the alleyway become known as Alley A? New businesses are moving into the alleyway, is this the beginning of a trend? Is a risk for them? What are the benefits? What does businesses moving into alleyways say about Columbia and its economic development? Dozens of questions formed in my mind.

After a little bit of initial research, I found the battle for naming the alleyways in Columbia started in 2007. Alley A is just the newest development in the battle. I hoped to get an interview with the realtor to find out what his personal stake and thoughts in the matter were.

It is clearly noticeable I only interviewed one main source, but during the time I put together this story I was working on a few other projects and had about 20 other interviews to conduct that week. Excuses, excuses I know; if I weren’t leaving town I’d probably work on it more. My ideal story would have included a few more sources and perhaps another angle to the story.

Originally this story started off as a broadcast story then became a print story. Finally I decided to make it a photo essay because it’s been awhile since I’ve worked on a multimedia project.

I’ll admit… this came out pretty weird, but it was my first attempt at a photo essay. It was also an attempt to try and turn a business story, and not a feature, into a photo essay, which made things a bit more difficult. Nonetheless, with the help of my still camera, flip cam voice recorder, Final Cut, and a Marantz I was able to put this together:

Can I at least have a cookie for trying?