Hundreds of otherwise likable people lined up on E Thomas last Sunday for a few selfie-filled seconds on the couch from Friends.

Why was this particular orange couch in the middle of a Capitol Hill street so popular when so many others go unloved? CHS reported here on the nostalgia-rich marketing underway for the show’s 25th anniversary at The Lounge by AT&T project that has temporarily converted Ada’s Discover Cafe into the onetime hit sitcom and now top-streamer’s Central Perk. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3IbkqXgz5c/

If you mocked the pop-up, stare in awe at the crowds. Like Glossier before it, it’s easy to underestimate the power of the mainstream.

Sunday’s festivities were the big push for the Central Perk stunt — as you can see in the video from Seattle photographer and mayoral sibling Tim Durkan, even The Rembrandts were there to sing the theme song.

The crowds, meanwhile, don’t seem likely to remain at Glossier-like levels but the couch and the rest of the Central Perk setup will remain in place indefinitely. The folks from Ada’s and AT&T weren’t sure on the duration but said the pop-up was being planned to be in place through at least the end of the year.

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