The Wallow

Imagine a resilient Wildcat Creek entertainment district. Instead of denying and fighting the flooding, the new Manhattan Live! entertainment plaza and ecological park was designed to embrace it.

Approaching the district from Seth Child Road and Anderson Avenue, you stop and take in the glass facade of the Midwest Dream Car Collection. There’s a crowd inside, a classic motorcycle club, who has come to see a 1970s super-bike that’s traveling the country. A long-haired child and gray-haired grandfather walk by, and as he points to a Firebird on the second floor, you overhear him telling tall tales about the hot rod that he used to own.

It’s a warm, sunny day, so you follow the rest of the crowd to the rooftop. As you walk, you hear the thwack of golf clubs striking balls behind you at Golf MHK and the requisite cheers from a bachelorette party wrapping up a round of drinks. You hear laughing and joyful chatter from a group of cyclists parking their e-bikes in the bike share rack. No doubt, they’re all here to join the crowd on the rooftop. For car drivers, the pedestrian bridge over Seth Child Road has made this district a park-and-stay, all-day experience.