OH %$#@!

I gave up heavy swearing up over 15 years ago. And I'm not easily impressed. But even I had to blurt out an expletive in wonder when confronted with the video wall in the lobby of the new Comcast Center. I hadn't been in the building since the week before the grand opening, but I had a few minutes in between meetings this afternoon and was in the area, so I decided to check it out with my own two eyes.

"Oh %$#@!" were my exact words. The display, which must contain like a billion pixels, is absolutely astonishing. Even the mundane - window washers and couples dancing the Twist - were rendered in extraordinary, eye-popping detail. There were at least a hundred other gawkers in the lobby with me; some had jaws scraping the floor, while others burst out in laughter as they entered the room and encountered the amazing projection.

Down below, by the way, the concourse was buzzing with lunchtime activity, a far cry from the dingy, poorly light image you usually associate with below-ground retail. And outside the lobby, even with the imminent threat of rain, even more throngs partook of lunch and drinks in classily laid out outdoor seating.

But the indoor lobby was the real money shot. I can't believe it took me this long to take it myself. If you haven't been, I highly recommend it. And with the hopeful addition of the 1500-foot American Commerce Center down the street, replete with activated street-level aesthetics and public plaza, this part of town could start really hopping.