The New Stop on Fort Wayne's Night of Lights Route Was Built for the Wind

Late last month, a designer stood on a lift in the narrow alley between 113 and 127 W. Berry St. and hung panels of blue mesh about 12 feet above the pavement. The Journal Gazette reported that the panels run the 150-foot length of the 77 Steps alley and form a picture of Fort Wayne's rivers, with a current running through them. The piece is called "Flow." Its dedication is scheduled for about 6:35 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25, which puts it on the Night of Lights route for the first time.

Most of what lights up downtown on Nov. 25 comes down after the holidays. Flow stays. It was designed around the same force that wore out the alley's last sculpture and grounded last year's drone show: the wind.

The alley's old sculpture lasted about as long as planned

"77 Steps" went into the alley in 2020. The City of Fort Wayne credits its design to the local firm Kelty Tappy Design and says it was planned for a five-year lifespan. The Journal Gazette described it as more than 300 tubes holding color-changing LED strips. Storms damaged it heavily. When the Public Art Commission priced repairs, it found they would cost far more than a new piece.

The prospectus for the replacement put a figure on the problem. Wind regularly moves through the alley at 10 to 20 miles per hour. Hard tubes and electronics fought that wind every day for five years. The new design works with it.

The alley will still be called 77 Steps. The city's Public Works department took out the old LED strips, tubes and computer equipment in August and readied the space for Flow.

A sculpture that changes with the weather

In December 2025, the city announced it had chosen New York-based designer James Lucey for Flow. The announcement described an overhead kinetic sculpture made of Kaynemaile architectural mesh with programmable LEDs, on a $100,000 budget. The mesh is what turns wind into motion. In the Journal Gazette's account, the panels ripple as air blows down the alley, and Lucey wants the piece to look different from one visit to the next, the way a real river does.

"Not only does it have to look good in the day, but also to look good when it's windy and when it's not windy," Lucey told the Journal Gazette.

The original call to artists asked for a light sculpture. Lucey wanted something that also works in daylight. Spotlights and LED grazer panels will light the mesh after dark. The lights can be programmed for events, and the plan is to add a sensor so the lighting responds as people walk through the alley.

The weather also slowed down the installation. Installation was first set for spring and slipped to summer because of manufacturing delays on the mesh. A dedication planned for Aug. 19 was postponed after mid-month storms set back the work, and the city then checked whether the alley needed extra anchors to hold the sculpture. The alley was closed to pedestrians during the work, and as of the Journal Gazette's Oct. 28 report, the mesh was still going up and no lights had been installed.

Property and income taxes don't pay for it. The money comes from the city's Public Art Giveback Program, which collects contributions from certain City-supported redevelopment projects. The Journal Gazette describes the formula as 1% of the estimated value of a project's economic incentive, up to $100,000. That cap is also Flow's budget.

Where Flow falls in the Nov. 25 lighting order

City senior planner Sherese Fortriede told the Public Art Commission that giving Flow a lighting slot, while crowds walk between downtown attractions, gives many people a chance to see the new piece. Downtown Fort Wayne lists Night of Lights from 5:45 to 8 p.m., with the first lighting at 6 p.m. Here is the order from the 2026 HolidayFest guide, dated Nov. 7:

1. 6:00 p.m. History Center turret, Barr Street
2. 6:10 p.m. Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation Community Center, Main Street
3. 6:20 p.m. PNC Bank's Santa and His Reindeer, Main Street
4. 6:35 p.m. Flow dedication, 77 Steps alley, Berry Street
5. 6:45 p.m. Ash Brokerage, Harrison Street
6. 7:05 p.m. Elevatus Architecture and Indiana Michigan Power Center Plaza, Wayne Street
7. 7:25 p.m. Downtown Fort Wayne drone show with Sky Elements, Indiana Michigan Power Center Plaza

Flow sits in the middle of the route. You can walk from Santa and His Reindeer at Calhoun and Main to the alley in the 15 minutes between lightings, and you'll still have 10 minutes before Ash Brokerage. PNC's display is still in the PNC Tower lot at that corner, and the guide lists festivities there from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

This year's street closures run from 5 to 8:30 p.m. WANE 15 reported last year's closure window as 5:30 to 8 p.m., so roads close half an hour earlier and reopen half an hour later. The guide includes a downtown parking map and warns that spaces fill quickly.

The last stop is waiting on the wind too

The drone show at 7:25 is a second try. A Sky Elements drone show was planned for the 2025 Night of Lights, and WANE 15 reported that high winds canceled it. The 2026 guide lists a 100-drone show again at Indiana Michigan Power Center Plaza.

That makes two stops on the route where the wind decides what you see. A gusty evening could keep the drones on the ground again, and the same gusts would set the mesh in the 77 Steps alley rippling.

The rest of the season starts the same night

Night of Lights kicks off the downtown holiday season, and several venues open on Nov. 25 itself. The HolidayFest guide lists a History Center Artful Creations Preview Night from 3 to 9 p.m. and Santa, Mrs. Claus and a live reindeer with the Baker Street Train Station Association from 4 to 8 p.m. It also lists free Santa's Workshop activities at the Community Center, cookies and hot cocoa at the Allen County Public Library, and holiday programming at the Grand Wayne Convention Center. At the Landing, Paper Mill hosts "R&B Me Please" from 8 p.m. to midnight.

The storefront windows have a new theme this year. The Holiday Window Decorating Contest changes from 2025's "Candy Cane Lane" to "Twelve Days of Christmas," with a scavenger hunt and a chance to win a $100 Downtown Fort Wayne Community Gift Card.

Silver Bells features silver displays, poinsettias and seasonal blooms. This year's gingerbread theme honors America 250 with red, white and blue décor and creations. Besides the regular days, the Embassy schedule includes a late-night Bookish Pop-Up on Nov. 27, Midnight Madness starting at 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 28 and sensory-friendly hours on Nov. 29. Holly Shopping brings back free trolley service and visits from holiday characters. The Headwaters Park rink lists regular hours of 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and noon to 9 p.m. on weekends. It also plans a new Winter Market with the YLNI Farmers Market on Nov. 29, Dec. 20 and Feb. 14.

Flow stays up after the holiday lights come down

The Silver Bells exhibit closes on Jan. 3, and the Festival of Trees ends even sooner. Flow stays in the 77 Steps alley year-round, and Lucey built it to look good in daylight. A lunchtime walk down Berry Street will show it differently than a December evening does.

Two of the businesses Lucey named while he worked in the alley are a short walk away. He told the Journal Gazette he liked how parts of the city reflect the past, mentioning Cindy's Diner and Coney Island near the alley. WPTA reported in January that Cindy's Diner, at 230 W. Berry St., is open weekdays from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fort Wayne's Famous Coney Island, at 131 W. Main St., lists hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. With both nearby, a weekday breakfast or a hot dog before the Embassy can include a walk under the mesh.

If your household is new to Fort Wayne this season, whether for residency, a fellowship or a new attending role, traditions like Night of Lights are some of the easiest ways to start feeling at home downtown. If you'd like help finding your local rhythms around a demanding schedule, MedMatch Realty Group is glad to help. Reach Out Today.