Market Avenue is a narrow one-way street nestled between W. 25^th and W. 26^th Streets. Although it spans just one block, a lot is packed in, including the Great Lakes Brewing Company, brewer of my favorite, Christmas Ale, and several other eateries and businesses. In pleasant weather, the sidewalks are crowded with coffee drinkers writing  in journals or chatting with friends, lunchtime beer tasters, neighborhood dog walkers. Plus a lot of wrought iron and lush hanging baskets. And then there is the park at Market Square, where the avenue meets W. 25^th, which seems full of activity in all sorts of weather.

Of course, as the avenue and square are located in Ohio City, this area is vibrant with both pedestrian energy and historical significance. Market Square was once the site of the Pearl Street Market, an 1868 one-story wooden building. The small market proved inadequate and was razed in 1915, three years after the large West Side Market opened across the street. As explained on the Ohio Historical Marker in the square: “Market Square was a meeting place for new immigrants and longtime neighborhood residents seeking both food and community … The park honors the district’s long history as a destination for food shoppers.”