Written by Erica Stewart
It’s time for the National Main Streets Conference, which means it’s time to crow about the recently unveiled Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA) winners. We are incredibly fortunate to have so many (on the order of 1,200) outstanding local partners doing great downtown revitalization work, and the competition for the GAMSA is always fierce as a result. This year, five rose to the top, and we couldn’t be happier to give them the recognition they deserve for their exemplary application of the principles of the Main Street Four Point Approach®. They’ve taken this time-tested recipe for revitalization success, mixed in a large helping of the people and places that make their community special, and blended it all together with massive amounts of elbow grease and dedication. And the results are delectable (okay, perhaps the recipe analogy fell a little flat, but you know what I mean).
And now, without further ado, meet our 2011 Great American Main Street Award winners!
Downtown Beloit Association, Beloit, Wisconsin: This college town of 36,000 overcame a tough reputation and a weak mix of businesses to become a welcoming place for all types: kayakers, artists, families and small business-owners, just to name a few. During Downtown Beloit Association’s 23-year tenure, Beloit’s downtown has reinvented itself with abundant public art, galleries, and live music every night of the week.
Like your food fresh? On Saturday you can mingle with 3,000 other people who flock to the weekly farmers market, which many consider one of best in the Midwest. But that’s hardly the extent of its community events: Downtown Beloit Association (DBA) helps pull off forty events a year - from an Arts Walk to Holidazzle. (I don’t actually know what that is, but the name makes you want go, doesn’t it?) But there’s more! Beloit has a great track record of adaptive use. DBA helped develop the historic Hotel Hilton into attractive lofts and the Beloit College Bookstore. The old Woolworths building is now a local grocery, and a former iron works plant is now a handsome mix of housing and retail. Beloit: you’re circled (in ink) on my future roadtrip-through-the-Midwest map!
Main Street Fort Pierce, Fort Pierce, Florida: In their 23 years of service, Main Street Fort Pierce has quietly created southeastern Florida’s best-kept secret (though I think the cat’s climbing out of the bag). Imagine a tropical oasis filled with rehabbed 1920s buildings, palm trees, waterfront trails, and the Sunrise Theatre - a charming independent theater that was restored with lots of leadership from Main Street Fort Pierce - all this despite development pressures and two devastating hurricanes.
The Main Street program and its partners are working hard to make Fort Pierce a year-round destination. And did I mention progressive? The county and the City of Fort Pierce are striving to become a national model for energy efficiency by creating the nation’s first Green District.
Old Town Commercial Association, Lansing, Michigan: Old Town Lansing embodies both the power of the arts as a catalyst for change and the power of people working together for a common cause. The capital city’s original downtown, this urban commercial district fell on hard times in the middle of the 20th century. Thankfully, a few urban pioneers saw potential where others saw only ruins. The district’s Old Town Scrap Fest provides the perfect illustration. Every year, artists gather in a nearby scrap yard and spend a week creating sculptures that are then sold as a fundraiser. Who’s behind this inspired thinking? Old Town Commercial Association. Formed in 1996, the Main Street organization has had a lot of success channeling passionate residents’ energy toward the district’s rebirth.
The result? Shells of former factories are now sought-after spaces for galleries, lofts, shops and cafes. Artist-designed street furniture, a large number of arts and creative services businesses, and 50 events like the food, wine and music-filled Festival of the Moon and Festival of the Sun keep this arts and entertainment district buzzing year round. I’ll definitely be hitting Lansing on my future Midwest travels.
Downtown Newark Partnership, Newark, Delaware: Here’s a great reason to get off traffic choked I-95 this summer. Much more than just home to a state university campus of 20,000, downtown Newark prides itself on embodying its slogan: “A New Day, Everyday.” From the annual Food & Brew Fest to Wine and Dine Downtown and Newark Nite, thousands of students, families, and visitors flock downtown day and night.
The secret to downtown’s universal appeal? Years of hard work and partnership-building by the Downtown Newark Partnership (DNP). DNP countered a negative town-gown dynamic by bringing the university, city government, residents and business owners together to plan and problem-solve. The results are clearly paying off. Architectural gems like the Deer Park Tavern, built during the Revolutionary War, and the National Register-listed Rhodes Drugstore, with its ornate Gothic Revival façade, house successful businesses with amazing atmosphere. Soon to join them will be the sleek Jimmy’s Diner, saved from demolition and slated to re-open. And then the accolades came rolling in. Newark was recently recognized as SBA Small Business Community of the Year, and Business Weekly named it the best city for business start-ups.
Silver City MainStreet, Silver City, New Mexico: This is the story of Silver City’s transformation from a once-booming mining town into a bustling arts community. With strong leadership from Silver City MainStreet, this community of 11,000 is now thriving thanks to the diversification of its economy and the creation of a successful market niche. In 1983, due to a strike at the county’s copper mines and the growth of retail strip centers, nearly 40% of downtown was boarded up. Silver City responded by creating a revitalization program and becoming one of New Mexico’s first Main Street communities in 1985. $5.1 million of downtown improvements and more than 150 building rehabs later, Silver City is now a place where people want to work, live and play.
The Silver City Arts and Cultural District, anchored by the reopened 1929 Silco Theater, has transformed downtown into an entertainment district. Galleries and other small businesses are thriving, fueled by creative artisans and a regional reputation for fine, handmade wares and crafts. Its Lighted Christmas Parade, now in its 20th year, is a perennial crowd-pleaser. Holiday lights and cactus - now this I gotta see.
Erica Stewart is the outreach coordinator for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Communications and Marketing department.
