Great American Main Street Award

Recognizing communities exemplifying the use of the Main Street Approach to revitalize traditional downtowns and neighborhood business districts.

Exceptional Main Streets

Each year, the National Main Street Center recognizes exceptional Main Street communities whose successes serve as a model for comprehensive, preservation-based commercial district revitalization with the Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA). Since the award’s inception in 1995, 100 Main Street programs have been honored.

GAMSA 2022

The application period for the 2022 Great American Main Street Awards is now closed. We look forward to recognizing the winners on May 16, 2022 at the Main Street Now Conference in Richmond, Virginia. Applications for 2023 will open in summer 2022.

GAMSA Winners

Great American Main Street Award winners represent the diversity of communities in the Main Street America network—small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts from every region in the country. Explore GAMSA winning communities:

2020 | Boyne City Main Street

2020 | Kendall Whittier Main Street

2020 | Downtown Tupelo Main Street

1995 - 2019

Selection Criteria

Winners are selected from a nationwide pool of applicants by a jury of Main Street professionals and leaders in the fields of community and economic development and historic preservation. Criteria for winning include: strength of the Main Street program in spurring community transformation, commitment to historic preservation, innovative programming, implementation of cross-sector partnerships, community outreach and stakeholder engagement, and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

If you have any questions about the Great American Main Street Award, please contact Steve Amraen at 312.610.5609 or gamsa@savingplaces.org.