If Pinnacle Bank Arena is the West Haymarket’s engine, the Railyard is its front porch. Across the street from the arena, this open-air courtyard is ringed on three sides by restaurants and bars, with the whole scene oriented around the Cube — a massive LED screen that streams Husker football watch parties, concerts, art installations, and movie nights. On a big game Saturday or a summer evening, this is the most crowded square block in Nebraska.
Winter is the Railyard’s second act: the courtyard becomes a public ice rink, skates included, which turns a gray January afternoon into something worth leaving the house for. Year-round it’s also a public market space with rotating vendors and live entertainment.
It’s free to walk through and people-watch; you only pay for what you eat and drink at the surrounding businesses. Park in one of the nearby garages, check the events calendar at canopyst.com before you go, and plan on dinner somewhere on Canopy Street — that’s the whole point of the district.