PHOTO GALLERY: Stickers frame new ideas for downtown Columbia

Taylor Adams, a bartender at The Blue Note, walks by a vacant building with "I wish this was" stickers on the window on Thursday. “I think downtown needs a country bar,” Adams said. “There’s no country bar downtown.” This civil art project is intended to allow people to voice their opinions on what vacant and abandoned buildings should be within their community.   |  Robert Swain

A sticker is posted on the outside window of a vacant building on Broadway on Thursday. This sticker, which reads "I wish this was," has been modified by Columbia residents with suggestions to fill the empty space. The "I wish this was" stickers were posted about a month ago by The District as a way to crowd source ideas.   |  Robert Swain

A sticker on the outside window of a vacant building on Broadway bears Columbia residents' suggestions for what should the space should be. The "I wish this was" stickers were posted by The District as a way to crowd source ideas for future use of the building.   |  Robert Swain

"I wish this was" stickers from a civil art project stick to the outside window of a vacant building on Broadway on Thursday. The building, located at 916 E. Broadway, has been vacant for more than a year, according to Elly Bethune, whose store, Elly’s Couture, is next door.
  |  Robert Swain

This sticker, part of a project to crowd source ideas for downtown development, is stuck on the window of an empty storefront on Broadway. The project started with approximately 15 or 20 stickers to “get the opinion of the people and spark something” and has grown to 57 stickers, said Elly Bethune, who owns the neighboring store, Elly's Boutique.
  |  Robert Swain

In this Thursday photo, a sticker on the outside window of an empty storefront on Broadway bears Columbia residents' suggestions for what should the space should be. The "I wish this was" stickers are part of a civic art project created by New Orleans-based artist Candy Chang.
  |  Robert Swain

A sticker on the outside window of a vacant store on Broadway shows one resident' desire for a homeless shelter. The "I wish this was" project was originally created as a civic art project to help rebuild New Orleans after the 2005 Hurricane Katrina.   |  Robert Swain

'I wish this was’ stickers from a civil art project stick to the outside window of a storefront on Broadway on Thursday. The stickers, posted by The District, are aimed at gathering ideas for a possible business to open there.   |  Robert Swain

A sticker is posted on the outside window of a vacant building on Broadway on Thursday. The sticker is part of a larger civic art project, "I wish this was." The project is described on its website as "a fun, low-barrier tool to provide civic input onsite, and the responses reflect the hopes, dreams and colorful imaginations of different neighborhoods."   |  Robert Swain

A sticker is posted on the outside window of a vacant building on Broadway on Thursday. This stickers were accompanied by a permanent marker for residents to complete the statement "I wish this was."   |  Robert Swain