Want to show off on social media enjoying a fancy meal on an airplane? Or posing underwater as a mermaid? Or why not take a snapshot of your family visiting the fantasy land Narnia? You can do all that from downtown Cleveland.

Narnia, Coco's Selfie Space
The Narnia Room at Coco’s Selfie Space.

Coco’s Selfie Space is more than 25,000 square feet of rooms, walls, floors and interactive sets at the 5th Street Arcade designed specifically for guests to take selfies. It features more than 70 backdrops designed to the last detail by owner Hikia “Coco” Dixon. 

Passes to take photos start at $29.99 per hour for one person. 

Coco’s Selfie Space began with Dixon opening her Coco’s Chalky Powders store in the 5th Street Arcade building in downtown Cleveland in 2018. Dixon’s chalk powders can be mixed with any type of paint to turn it into chalk paint. She has since expanded the space to include the selfie museum and a vintage shop, which is a collaboration with other small business owners.      

Coco's Chalky Paints
Coco’s Chalky Powders, in the basement of Coco’s Selfie Space.

New York City in the heart of Cleveland

The immersive New York City subway scene features long halls and moves through redesigned restrooms covered in graffiti. It ends at an interactive subway car set complete with working levers and a vibrating floor. 

Coco's Selfie Space
Coco's Selfie Space
Coco's Selfie Space
Coco's Selfie Space
Coco's Selfie Space
Coco's Selfie Space

The walls and subway car set are made of sturdy cardboard held by a base that keeps them stable. Every space is decorated with Coco’s chalk powders and items from her storage collection.  

Use the portable ring lights around the set to enhance the light on your photos and hold your phone for you.
Use the portable ring lights around the set to enhance the light on your photos and hold your phone for you.

The mermaid room

Hidden in the nooks and crannies of the building is a small room chalk-painted in a dark ocean blue known as the “mermaid room.” Mermaid tails of various sizes hang inside the doorway for customers to use. The mixed-media art installation inside the room is an underwater scene with a separate “aquarium” for mermaids to take photos of themselves behind the glass.

The aquarium has a bench for mermaids to sit on for photos from outside the glass.
The aquarium has a bench for mermaids to sit on for photos from outside the glass.

On the other side of the room is an open underwater scene and rocks where mermaids can sit down and shoot selfies. The sets are all hand-made using new and upcycled materials such as spray foam, a bubble machine and lighting to create the feeling of being underwater. 

The Mermaid Room at Coco's Selfie Space.

Helpful tips…

Here are some things to know before you go to help get the most out of your experience at Coco’s Selfie Space:  

  • Bring your imagination: Coco offers free 5-minute tours to customers who just want to have a look around first. Take the tour. Use the time to think about how you would like to re-imagine yourself, then show up as that person when you’re ready to take your shots. Coco has plenty of props and costumes, but why not bring your own? [Pro tip: there are changing rooms, so bring all of your personalities.] 
Coco's Selfie Space
Dress up as Barbie and Ken and have lunch at a romantic patio cafe.
  • Something for everybody: Coco’s is family-friendly and features more than 70 different set designs ranging from the Land of Oz to the family library. People of all ages and interests can find a selfie set of interest to them. [Pro tip: Got an uncle/cool aunt/conservative dad/cousins to keep occupied this holiday season? There’s really something here for all of them.]    
Coco's Selfie Space
The Wicked walkway at Coco’s Selfie Space.
  • Visit the stores: The walkway down into Coco’s Land of Oz is also the back entrance to the antique shop, with gifts and upscale vintage items as diverse and decorative as the selfie space. There’s another vintage shop housed in the basement near Coco’s Chalky Powders. [Pro tip: If you dig the style of the selfie space, the items in the shops have a similar vibe.] 
Coco's Selfie Space
Coco’s Selfie Space offers free tours of the over 70 different sets available for use.

Coco’s Selfie Space will be hosting a New Year’s Eve pre-celebration event featuring dinner, drinks and live music from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31. For more information, visit Coco’s website. 

Reporter/Audio Producer (she/her)
I create audio stories meant to engage and inform people in a way that pushes beyond media stereotypes. I aim to build trust between local media and the community, striving to teach people “how” to think about life in Cleveland, not “what” to think.