Blogs

Community Spotlight: Main Street Homer, Louisiana

July 19, 2018 | Community Spotlight: Main Street Homer, Louisiana | Main Street Homer (Homer, Louisiana) was awarded a $25,000 A Community Thrives social impact grant from Gannett/USA Today Network to create an arts center with affordable artist studios and classroom/event space. Specifically, the grant will be used to update bathrooms and install an elevator to bring the historic Mason’s Building up to American Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. The arts center will serve as an incubator for local artists, which will further Homer Main Street’s mission to “revitalize downtown Homer through economic and cultural development and advancement of the arts ...

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Webinar August 9: Measuring Impact for Main Street Transformation

July 18, 2018 | Webinar August 9: Measuring Impact for Main Street Transformation | Measuring impact and communicating the value of your work is essential to the success of your organization. Our newly released Measuring Impact for Main Street Transformation: A Practitioners Guide provides a practical framework to help Main Street leadership, staff, and volunteers understand how to collect, assess, and communicate impact data to improve program operations, deepen impact, and, ultimately, enhance your ability to serve your community. Collaborating author Jon Stover & Associates will walk through key-takeaways from the guide and answer your questions ...

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New Resource Guide on Measuring Impact

July 17, 2018 | New Resource Guide on Measuring Impact | We are pleased to release a new Main Street Approach resource guide*, Measuring Impact for Main Street Transformation: A Practitioner’s Guide, to help you in your efforts to the measure the impact and communicate the value of your work. When deciding where to invest time or resources, more and more, volunteers, grantmakers, municipalities, and other government partners are looking to organizations to make a clear and compelling case for why what they do matters. That’s why rigorous outcome and impact measurement are key components of the refreshed Main Street Approach . This new guide provides ...

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Preserve Route 66 Road Trip

July 12, 2018 | Preserve Route 66 Road Trip The most enduring highway in our public consciousness, Route 66 represents a unique moment in history that continues to define the nation’s identity: the rise of the automobile and its implications of freedom, mobility, and a quintessential American story. To celebrate the legacy of the Mother Road, the National Trust for Historic Preservation is taking to the streets—literally. From July 2 to August 3, 2018, the National Trust's talented road team is traveling from Chicago to Los Angeles, uncovering new stories and meeting the diverse people who live along the historic route. They hope to capture the spirit ...

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Allied Member Spotlight: Erie Landmark Company

July 12, 2018 | Allied Member Spotlight: Erie Landmark Company | This week, we caught up with Main Street America Allied Member Erie Landmark Company , a family-operated foundry specializing in high-quality bronze and aluminum plaques and markers. How long has your business has been around? We started as the Paul W. Zimmerman Foundries Company in 1937 and are in our 81st year as a family owned and operated foundry in Columbia, Pennsylvania. In 2003, we purchased the Erie Landmark Company to offer our customers an even larger plaque selection and enhanced customer service. What is the most rewarding aspect of working with Main Streets? ...

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Jenny Boulware is New Main Street South Carolina Manager

July 10, 2018 | Jenny Boulware is New Main Street South Carolina Manager | The National Main Street Center is delighted to announce Jenny Boulware as Main Street South Carolina’s new Manager. Main Street South Carolina is a program of the Municipal Association of South Carolina. With nearly 20 years of experience, Jenny provides community development and downtown revitalization technical assistance for Main Street South Carolina. Previously, Jenny served as a design services consultant with South Carolina Downtown Development Association where she assisted in design-related issues across the state. She also served as the executive director of Main Street ...

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Historic Real Estate Finance Training Certification

July 9, 2018 | Register for Historic Real Estate Finance Certification Part 1 Do you speak “real estate developer”? Do you understand the players and the process of historic real estate redevelopment? Learn more than the lingo -- prepare yourself to participate in downtown development deals and create results for your community with a new, specialized training opportunity from the Main Street America Institute, in partnership with the National Development Council. The Historic Real Estate Finance Certification series is a two-part program designed to meet the needs of Main Street leaders, enabling them to take a lead role in the redevelopment of ...

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Happy Independence Day

July 3, 2018 | Happy #MainStreetFourth Happy Independence Day, Main Street America! We wish you all a fun, safe, and patriotic Fourth of July. While you're celebrating, tag your photos and videos with #MainStreetFourth . We'll be resharing all those community fireworks, parades, barbecues, concerts, block parties, and street fairs on Facebook , Instagram , and Twitter . We can’t wait to see that red, white and blue! In observance of the holiday, our office will be closed July 4-6. #Blogs

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Special Thank You to Ariana Pup, NMSC Communications Assistant

June 28, 2018 | Special Thank You to Ariana Pup, Communications Assistant A special thank you to Ariana Pup , who did an outstanding job assisting with Main Street communications while Emily Wallrath Schmidt was on maternity leave. She will remain on with the Center on a part-time basis and will continue to help with member communications and social media. Thanks, Ariana! #Blogs #Announcement

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Allied Member Spotlight: EarthPlanter

June 28, 2018 | Allied Member Spotlight: EarthPlanter | Our Allied Network is made up of companies and consultants that provide products and services related to downtown revitalization and economic development. Whether you specialize in market analysis, architectural design, beautiful event banners, or state of the art park benches, Allied membership provides you with an invaluable way to promote your goods or services to the Main Street America network. This week, we sat down for a Q&A with Bob Buckley, Partner of EarthPlanter , the leader in commercial self-watering planter systems. EarthPlanter will guide you through every detail, from ...

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Creating Equitable, Inclusive and Transparent Cities: A Year in Review

June 27, 2018 | Creating Equitable, Inclusive and Transparent Cities: The National League of Cities (NLC) Equitable Economic Development Fellowship | A Year in Review, by Dionne Baux | NLC meeting at City Hall in Austin, Texas. After spending a year serving as a project advisor to the City of Austin, Texas, through the National League of Cities (NLC), PolicyLink and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) jointly-supported Equitable Economic Development Fellowship (EED), I am in complete awe of Austin’s, and the other five city fellow’s, commitment to creating equitable, inclusive, and transparent cities. The Equitable Economic Development Fellowship is ...

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Introducing the New Main Street Resource Center

June 26, 2018 | Introducing the New Main Street Resource Center Looking for great ideas and solutions? Delve in into revamped digital libraries of the Main Street Resource Center for a broad range of member resources and publications, including our signature Main Street Approach handbooks and guides , the newly released revitalization toolkits , and the popular Main Street Now Journal archive . Catch up on recordings from our educational webinar series , read our blog for the latest news and stories, and watch and download the short films in our video library to get inspired. Here’s a rundown of what you can find in the ...

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UrbanMain District Spotlight: Historic King Drive in Milwaukee

June 26, 2018 | UrbanMain District Spotlight: Historic King Drive in Milwaukee | The community celebrates Juneteenth Day on Historic Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Milwaukee. Photo credit: King Drive Is This past month, the National Main Street Center's Dionne Baux was invited to Milwaukee's Historic King Drive BID No. 8 for a resource team visit. We caught up with their Executive Director, Deshea Agee, to learn a little bit more about the organization, now in its 25th year of operation, and the work they’re doing to make Milwaukee's Dr. King Drive the best in the nation. We love the quote you have on your website: “A flourishing neighborhood ...

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Main Street America Institute: The Community Transformation Workshop is heading to Chattanooga

June 25, 2018 | Main Street America Institute | The Community Transformation Workshop is heading to Chattanooga! | Strategic Main Street leadership requires in-depth knowledge of economic development tools and their implementation. The annual Community Transformation Workshop immerses downtown and commercial district leaders in the strategies, metrics, and applications of the Main Street Approach. Join colleagues from across the country for this three-day interactive, intensive learning experience October 17-19, 2018 , in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Led by expert instructors from the National Main Street Center and Donovan Rypkema , renowned ...

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Community Spotlight: Annual Texas First Lady Main Street Tour

June 21, 2018 | Community Spotlight: Annual Texas First Lady Main Street Tour When the Texas Main Street Program was begun in 1981, one of the traditions that was started at that time was an annual visit by the First Lady of Texas to welcome the new communities into the Main Street network. Today, 37 years later that annual event continues. On May 1, to kick off Preservation Month, Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott joined Texas Main Street and Texas Historical Commission staff, management and Commissioners to welcome Temple and Pearsall into the 89-city Texas Main Street network. Temple, with an approximate population of 73,000, is located in Central ...

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Last Chance: 2019 GAMSA Applications due TOMORROW June 22

June 21, 2018 | Last Chance: 2019 GAMSA Applications due TOMORROW June 22 The application for the 2019 Great American Main Street Award will close this Friday, June 22 at midnight CDT. All Main Street America Accredited Programs are encouraged to apply. For more information on the award, including scoring criteria, visit mainstreet.org/gamsa . If you have any questions while completing your application, please contact Steve Amraen at 312.610.5609 or gamsa@savingplaces.org . #Blogs #Announcement

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Evolution, Acceptance, and Change: The Main Street Approach as a Catalyst for Revitalization

June 19, 2018 | Main Spotlight | Evolution, Acceptance, and Change: The Main Street Approach as a Catalyst for Revitalization | By Michael Wagler, Main Street Iowa | Nearly slated for demolition 30 years ago, downtown Cedar Falls has experienced an amazing transformation through its revitalization journey using the Main Street Approach. Photo credit: Cedar Falls Community Main Street An Incremental Evolution The term “Main Street,” has come to mean so much in our society. To some, it’s just the name of a street. To others, it’s the collection of old buildings, maybe that place where people use to go shopping. In some cases, Main Street is used ...

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MSAI Historic Real Estate Finance Certification registration now open

June 18, 2018 | MSAI Historic Real Estate Finance Certification registration now open | Take the lead in the redevelopment of historic properties in your district with Main Street-specific training from MSAI and the National Development Council. A thorough understanding of financial transactions is essential to influencing the development process in a commercial district. The Main Street America Institute (MSAI) is pleased to offer a new training opportunity on the skills needed to take a lead role in the redevelopment of historic properties in your district. Offered with our partners at the National Development Council (NDC), the Historic Real Estate ...

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Allied Member Spotlight: Business Districts Inc.

June 14, 2018 | Allied Member Spotlight: Business Districts, Inc. | Our Allied Network is made up of companies and consultants that provide products and services related to downtown revitalization and economic development. Whether you specialize in market analysis, architectural design, beautiful event banners, or state of the art park benches, Allied membership provides you with an invaluable way to promote your goods or services to the Main Street America network. This week, we sat down for a Q&A with Diane Williams, Director of Business Districts, Inc. , the premier provider of business district services to local governments ...

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Call for Proposals: 2019 Main Street Now Conference

June 13, 2018 | Call for Proposals: 2019 Main Street Now Conference | The National Main Street Center is seeking education session proposals for the 2019 Main Street Now Conference . Convened annually, Main Street Now showcases implementable best practices, time-tested solutions and innovative ideas from our national network of practitioners, as well as those in adjacent fields who share in the goal of creating economic and social prosperity in downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. This year, along with our hosts at the Washington State Main Street Program , we will explore Main Street programs from the inside out, centering on the hard-work of ...

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