Written by Joe Borgstrom

In all honesty, it started with a conversation at the 2009 National Main Streets Conference between me, Arkansas’ Cary Tyson, and Ohio’s Jeff Siegler (directors of their state’s respective Main Street programs). We were talking about the need for somebody to do a video that told people, in a light-hearted way, about the importance of supporting Main Street districts. We didn’t want to hit people over the head with it, but simply wanted to remind people of the many reasons to shop their local Main Streets. The conversation ended there and we all went about the rest of the conference.

A week or two later, I came across a video entitled Built to Last. It promotes some of the ideas from the Charter of New Urbanism. It’s hip and funny and it had a tremendous run on social media. As of this writing, the video has well over 70,000 hits on YouTube. I thought to myself, “This is exactly what we should do.” I fired off the link to the video to Cary and Jeff. Both agreed this was in the vein we were talking about.

Within a few days, I sat down with our Promotions, Arts & Culture Specialist Jodie Willobee, MSHDA’s communications manager, and several members of our marketing firm (a FANTASTIC group named Pace & Partners), to have our first project meeting. I’m not entirely sure what the folks from Pace & Partners first thoughts about this project were, but I’m pretty sure it was something along the lines of: “These people are nuts.”

We must have gone through a dozen creative ideas in a matter of a half hour. Finally, the folks from Pace were able to corral us into thinking through what were the most important points we wanted to talk about. We came to one central theme. If people wanted to save their Main Streets, they had to support them financially. The team from Pace were given the task of coming up with a creative concept around that with one caveat: Whatever the creative pitches they were going to make, we didn’t want to people to feel like they’d been beaten into submission by a “Thou Shall Buy Local” edict. We wanted to inform and inspire, not lecture.

A few weeks later, the team from Pace came back to pitch ideas. They gave us three options. The one we all collectively liked the best was the concept aptly named, “Open.” The concept was simple. Tell the story through various “We’re Open” signs. The script was written brilliantly by Pace & Partners’ namesake, Dennis Pace. Though he, Jodie, and I went round and round about some tone and specific words, Dennis’ flair for writing is one of the things that makes this video so powerful.

One of the things we wanted to do in this video was to feature all the great communities that were a part of the Michigan Main Street program. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the budget that would’ve afforded ALL of our communities to be involved due to the time and distance between all of them. We narrowed down the candidates to the four Main Street downtowns that we filmed: Marshall, Howell, Niles, and Lansing’s Old Town.

We sent our crews out to film and take pictures of these communities, the businesses, residents, and other things about them that make them great Main Streets. All of the Main Street managers were fantastic in lining up folks for shots. Marshall’s Diane Larkin even pulled people into stores who were walking by. Niles’ Lisa Croteau appears in the video as the “Come on In” lady. They were all invaluable to the process.

Last, but certainly not least, the production crew and staff of Pace & Partners and Such Video put a whole lot of time in on the project. Notably, Christina Jackson, Rob Wesson, and our irrepressible account manager Debbie Horak, who had the unenviable task of trying to herd the cats as we all wanted to go in our own creative directions.

The story of this video is not over though. Pace & Partners, recognizing the situation many of our Main Street coordinating and local programs are in, asked our permission to use our video as the basis to create a more generic version (at their cost) to share with ALL Main Street communities. At last word, this video is two weeks away from release. We hope people are impacted by the video. We hope it makes people think a bit differently about how and where they spend their money, what it means to the local economy, and that it helps them to make a choice to Buy Main Street.

Joe Borgstrom is the director of the Specialized Technical Assistance & Revitalization Strategy Division for the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

We always knew they were out there. Spawning in far-away places and off our radar, “Main Street” revitalization programs have been popping up around the globe in recent years at an astonishing rate. These “sister” programs are now saving historic town centers in Canada, Belgium, Great Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland, and even Japan! Whether they are precisely based on the National Trust’s Four Point Approach or not, the spirit of Main Street – which took root in the U.S. thirty years ago – has now translated successfully into nearly a dozen languages and at least a thousand programs worldwide (that we know of).

So it was fitting to mark this milestone with a formal ceremony, held a few weeks ago in Quebec, Canada, as part of their annual Rues Principales (French for Main Street) conference. Joining Quebec’s Foundation Director François Varin and Director General Pierre Francis, representing several European networks, I was honored to sign this international agreement of “mutual recognition” for preservation-based economic development programs on both sides of the Atlantic.

Why is this big news? First, it validates the vision of so many champions in our field over the years… to save historic buildings that help save communities. The power of an idea – as uniquely American as Main Street – turns out to be a universal value that matters everywhere, regardless of our nation of origin or the language we speak.

Second, it opens the door to future possibilities, where we can teach the world what we’ve learned over the past three decades — and maybe even learn a few new tricks ourselves. We may have been “first out of the gate” here in the US with a response to the negative impact of sprawl, but sadly, many other countries are starting to catch up. It has only been recently, for example, that many of our global colleagues have seen stores close – and development stall – in their city centers.

Yet, because it’s a truism that innovation almost always happens on the fringe, it’s worth watching those who are operating just “outside the box” of the US Main Street program. Where better to look for new innovations than places where our approach is truly novel? I’m fascinated to see how the seed of our ideas can take root on foreign soils, and possibly produce hybrid solutions we can bring back to the states.

Ceremonies and certificates are not the same as progress or success, so we know that this agreement in itself can’t change the world. But the event does give us all a chance to step back, and see that we are part of a bigger puzzle. And when we can see the patterns from this higher view, we might find new solutions we didn’t notice before. At the very least, it provides a renewed conviction that we are on the right path here in the U.S., with a universal value and enduring idea – called Main Street – that can be understood and spoken in any language.

Doug Loescher is the director of the National Trust Main Street Center.

Written by Francisco Hernandez

A Latino-owned business in Marshalltown, a Main Street community in Iowa.

When I arrived to Newton, Iowa, from Guanajuato, Mexico, 14 years ago, finding an original Mexican restaurant in town or hearing Spanish spoken in the streets was very, very rare.  Today, things have dramatically changed.  Mexican restaurants exist in abundance and the Spanish language can be heard in even the most remote rural communities of Iowa.

During a fairly short period of time, Latinos in the Midwest have become an increasingly important population.  The challenges and needs of this population cannot, and should not, be ignored any longer.  Towns like West Liberty and Columbus Junction, with Hispanic populations of approximately 40%, are just a couple of vivid examples of a “Latinization” process occurring throughout the rural landscape of the Midwest.

Despite the negative rhetoric about Latino immigrants that is dispensed by many politicians and media outlets, the truth of the matter is that in Iowa, many communities strongly depend on the Hispanic population to stabilize their population and to contribute to the socioeconomic and cultural environment in the region.  Hispanics in Iowa provide an infusion of labor; new business creation; additional sales tax revenue; exposure to Latin American food, dance, and festivals; and many other contributions.

Francisco Hernandez with Agustin Ordaz, a Latino business owner from a Main Street community in Marshalltown, Iowa.

This summer, I worked with Main Street Iowa program and the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED)  creating partnerships and building bridges in an attempt to fill the gaps between Hispanics, Main Street Iowa, and IDED.  Assessing the challenges and opportunities of Hispanic business owners operating in Main Street communities is not an easy task, but in this critical demographic change, it is imperative to find better ways to improve the programming offered to this diverse and ever-growing population.

Over the summer, I visited 12 Main Street Iowa communities with significant Latino populations. I was sad to realize that many of my fellow immigrants still lack the basic knowledge of services available at the state level.  Many current and prospective business owners are, unfortunately, oblivious to the available financing, technical assistance, and social networking that could help them be fully integrated into the state’s mainstream economic system.  In order to spread this knowledge, I met directly with Latinos, but also with local chambers of commerce, Small Business Development Corporations, Iowa State University Extension offices, and other organizations that work in these communities.  I wanted to know how to strengthen the ties between Latinos and the existing service network, so that anyone who works with Hispanics in the state can offer more effective resources and referrals.

Providing the necessary tools for a new population’s successful integration into a community is a huge challenge, but Main Street Iowa has taken the first steps to becoming a great catalyst to assist in these efforts.  I hope my research will help them to provide many of their already successful programming and networking services to a more diverse group of business owners.  Successfully tapping into the ever-growing, hard-working and risk-taking Hispanic population can prove to be a great challenge, but it also offers great opportunities in an increasingly competitive and global environment.

September 15- October 15 is Latino Heritage Month. Learn more about the stories of Latino Heritage in Preservation.

Francisco Hernandez is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at Iowa State University.  Over the last 14 years he has been involved in various forms of outreach and assistance to Latinos throughout Iowa.

Given the dearth of positive real estate news as of late, I was happy to read the new report by Joseph Cortright for CEOs for Cities. The finding: homes that are located within walking distance to neighborhood amenities including shops, restaurants, schools, libraries and public transportation have higher property values.

In Cortright’s report, “Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Housing Values in U.S. Cities,” he examined real estate data in 15 major markets and determined that in 13 of those markets, high levels of walkability were connected to higher home values. His methodology used Walk Score, which measures the proximity of amenities such as restaurants, parks, coffee shops, grocery stories, etc. to calculate “Walk Scores” for the 15 markets. A Walk Score of 100 is the most pedestrian-friendly while 0 is car heaven. Scores of 70 and above indicate high levels of walkability. Cortright found a one-point increase in a Walk Score correlated to an increase in home values from $700 to $3,000, depending on the density of the city being researched.

This finding, while not surprising, is welcome reassurance that my husband and I were of sound judgment when we pulled the trigger on buying our first home: a two bedroom condo in an uneven neighborhood just three blocks from DC’s subway system. Sure, the only building “perks” consisted of such essentials as a laundry room and trash service but to purchase a place that would always be located close to the Metro seemed to guarantee a strong re-sale value. That decision was made four years ago, and thanks to Obama’s homeowner assistance programs, we just refinanced. What isn’t so reassuring is that our property assessment revealed we have exactly zero equity in our home. But it is ours, and choosing that location has enabled us to leave the car home when running to the grocery store for a missing ingredient, or to CVS for a bigger band-aid when my daredevil son has collided with the coffee table in our “cozy” apartment.

On a more macro level, the report also adds another dimension to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s sustainability message–that investing in older and historic neighborhoods, which are traditionally very walkable, makes sound environmental sense and economic sense.

What does your Walk Score tell you about your home’s value and your neighborhood? Visit Walk Score to find out.

Erica Stewart is the outreach coordinator for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Community Revitalization Program.

• Pick up extra copies of the Summer 2009 Forum Journal, which looks at the different ways the preservation community has been responding to the economic downturn. Articles by Donovan Rypkema, Anita Durel, and Stacy Mitchell await you.
• Fundraising Basics for Preservation Organizations by Martha Vail is a retooled and revamped version of the old standby Quest for Funds: A Fund-Raising Starter Kit. Find out what the “Five Fundamentals of Fundraising” are and how fundraising is really, in the end, all about your mission.
• In response to the reoccurring questions about new construction, Eleanor Esser Gorski lays out the design review process, step-by-step, in addition to looking at design considerations for new construction in our newest title, Regulating New Construction in Historic Areas.
• And amidst our cache of books to help those on Main Street we have The Main Street Board Member’s Handbook. This book breaks down the Main Street Four-Point Approach (organization, promotion, design, and economic restructuring) for board members and also delineates the process of setting up a Main Street board.

These books and more can all be found on www.preservationbooks.org. Make sure you enter the promotional code SALE09 at checkout to get your discount.

Priya Chhaya is the program assistant for training & online information services in the Center for Preservation Leadership at the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Downtown Medina, Oh.

Every year, Money magazine rates America’s 100 best small towns to live. In the August 2009 issue, we were thrilled to see that 10 out of the 100 were Main Street towns. This year’s list includes Liberty, Mo.; Suwanee, Ga.; Medina, Ohio; Rochester, Mich.; Mt. Airy, Md.; Batavia, Ill.; Simsbury, Conn.; Pewaukee, Wisc.; Emmaus, Penn.; and Concord, N.H.
A closer look at Rochester, Michigan, reveals a suburb of Detroit that has an unemployment rate that is lower than most of the country, as well as 82 acres of parkland, three waterways, and many rehabbed 19th century buildings in its downtown.

Kristi Trevarrow, the director of the local Main Street program in Rochester tells us that her town had its debut on the list in 2005 and so she was pleased to get listed again this year. “For us to make it back on the list in a down economy is pretty phenomenal, especially since our area has been hit pretty hard by everything happening in the auto industry,” Kristi says, pointing out that Chrysler’s headquarters is 15 minutes from downtown. “I had the opportunity to talk to Money magazine writers because they called our office to get information about the local economy. They seemed impressed by the amount of new businesses opening and the small number of businesses closing, so I think that made a difference.”

Summer on the square in Medina, Oh.

A look at Medina, Ohio, will show a town square surrounded by impeccably rehabbed historic buildings. “Many communities have at least one eyesore building or one white elephant, but we fortunately do not,” boasts Matthew Wiederhold, executive director of Main Street Medina. “We also have a fantastic school system and a strong arts presence in the community, while still maintaining a very small-town atmosphere.”

Matthew feels the Main Street program was a contributing factor to helping get Medina named to the list. He cites the fact that Medina raised the bar for historic preservation in Ohio and that the revitalization organization assisted local businesses while promoting the historic district as a destination.

Given the charms of small towns, high quality of life, historic settings, and interesting local businesses, we’re not surprised that these Main Street towns made the cut. Money magazine sought towns with populations 8,500 to 50,000 and compared various statistics and amenities, such as crime rates, arts funding, restaurants, and air quality, of each location against the Best Places average.

Money magazine’s full list is available here.

Andrea L. Dono is an associate editor for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Street Center.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation not only developed an approach to revitalization of America’s historic or traditional downtowns, but we wrote the book on it. Literally.

We present to you Revitalizing Main Street: A practitioner’s guide to comprehensive commercial district revitalization. Don’t let the long name scare you. Sure, turning around your downtown takes time – but it can be done. There are a wide scope of issues a commercial district faces when the people who care about it commit to making vibrant again – bringing people back to the streets, attracting new businesses to fill empty storefronts,  and focusing on details ranging from zoning ordinances to heritage tourism programs. We’ve packaged all of these details, explained how our proven Main Street Four-Point Approach® works, mixed in tons of inspiring case studies, and invite you to take the commercial district revitalization bull by its horns and use our new book as a resource. You can buy the new publication from Preservation Books.

And, as a bonus, we have a few online-only chapters and other resources available for free. Check them out!

Andrea L. Dono is an associate editor for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Street Center.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, Mayor Sharon Dixon, John Leith-Tetrault of NTCIC, and others celebrating the ribbon-cutting.

A crowd of 50 supporters, partners and residents gathered recently to help welcome the reinvented Professional Arts Building back to Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood. Once a thriving hub for the dental and medical trades, the eight-story, 1927 building on Reed Street was vacant and poorly maintained for several years. Thanks to the shared vision of Somerset Development and joint venture partner, NAGE Housing, Inc., the historic office building now houses 96 modern, light-filled rental units—all of which are affordable to individuals earning between 80 and 120% of Area Median Income.

In a ceremony officiated by Congressman Elijah Cummings and Mayor Sheila Dixon, the building’s transformation was unveiled. Though the use of the building is a departure from its past, ties to the building’s previous life are visible throughout. The project utilized state and federal historic tax credits, ensuring that its character-defining features would remain. Thus, the ceramic wall tiles that surrounded the dentist chairs remain, original office doors have been retained, and a lobby marquee still shows the names and floor locations of the professionals who last occupied the property.

The exterior of the Professional Arts Building.

The potential impact of the Professional Arts Building on the neighborhood is exciting. The Mount Vernon neighborhood is a great place to call home—rich in historic commercial buildings, brick rowhouses and shady streets, but its entertainment and shopping options—amenities that city-dwellers have come to expect—are limited. What the neighborhood does have is ideal access to public transportation and proximity to arts institutions. The Professional Arts Building sits just a block and a half from Baltimore’s light rail, subway, train, and bus lines. It is also convenient to the Walters Art Museum, Maryland Institute College of Art, University of Baltimore and Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. It is hoped that the Professional Arts Building, as Mount Vernon’s first high-rise historic multifamily apartment project, will spur the development of additional projects that will attract a critical mass of residents needed to sustain the retail and commercial establishments the neighborhood is currently lacking.

The National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC) —the for-profit subsidiary of the National Trust—is doing its part to help make that vision a reality. NTCIC partnered with Citibank to make a $4.5 million equity investment in the project to help catalyze the neighborhood’s revitalization. NTCIC is the federal historic tax credit syndicator, a transaction that transfers the federal historic tax credits to Citibank to defray its tax liability in exchange for essential cash resources to the project during its development. NTCIC’s involvement in the Professional Arts Building represents its sixth closed or committed equity investment in Baltimore, totaling $52 million.

Though no longer a medical building where generations of Baltimoreans had their teeth cleaned and their pulse checked, the Professional Arts Building—in its new role as multifamily residential building—is as essential as ever to the health of the neighborhood and City of Baltimore. And best of all? No Novocain needed.

Erica Stewart is the outreach coordinator for the Community Revitalization department at the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Another Fourth of July has come and gone, and as I do my best to keep it together during the always-grueling Monday that follows a three-day weekend, I am left with three questions:

1. How is it that mosquitoes consistently find the one area of my ankles that somehow missed the bug spray?

2. Exactly how many treadmill miles do I need to log this afternoon to burn off two hot dogs, chips, a chicken leg, potato salad, baked beans, pasta salad, an ice cream sandwich, and “a few” cold ones?

3. What would the Fourth of July be like without Main Street?

With hometown parades and years of history draped in red, white, and blue, Main Street adds something – a feeling – to the Fourth of July that you just can’t get at home with PBS. It is, as my colleague eloquently blogged just before the big day, the perfect backdrop to “reflect on our heritage and to enjoy Americana.”

Last week, we put out a call for stories and pictures that capture these amazing Main Street moments. Come to find out, some of you celebrated America’s birthday by getting tangled up in a town-wide Twister competition, while others cheered dogs and ducks around the racetrack. And, well, some of you are probably still trying to get “Achy Breaky Heart” out of your heads. Good luck with that.

Regardless of what you did, if it happened on Main Street, we want to hear about it! Visit our Red, White and Blue Main Streets web page, and join others who have shared stories about how they celebrated Independence Day in their neck of the woods. And if you took photos this weekend, consider adding them to our special photo collection. You’ll find easy, step-by-step instructions on the same page.

Families in Clinton, Missouri line Main Street to watch the annual Olde Glory Days parade.

No plans for the Fourth yet? Consider heading to Main Street!

America’s historic downtowns are the perfect backdrop for celebrating Independence Day, and visiting these special places gives us an opportunity to reflect on our heritage and to enjoy Americana in an authentic setting. As a result, Main Streets throughout the nation are welcoming neighbors and new visitors this weekend with a wide variety of events that run the gamut from traditional community gatherings to blow-out patriotic events.

Earlier this week, we created a special web page for Main Street leaders and enthusiasts to post descriptions of how their towns are celebrating our nation’s birthday, as well as to upload photos of their holiday events. So, what’s happening on Main Street? Lots!

Williamsburg, Kentucky isn’t waiting for Saturday to get started. Come Friday, the streets will be closed off for their Old Fashioned Block Party, which features live music and dancing. Hopefully, Williamsburg residents won’t party too hard because Saturday starts with a benefit 5K run/walk. A parade through downtown and a fireworks display will cap off the evening, while other events like the annual corn toss tournament and the town’s duck races keep the celebrations rolling throughout the weekend.

Clinton, Missouri starts early, ends late, and seems to out-do itself every year with its four-day Olde Glory Days, which features free entertainment for everyone. There’s going to be music, weiner dog races and a pet parade, a carnival, a quilt show, a fine arts show, and the debut of a Wii tournament, among so many more activities. Visitors can enjoy the state’s largest courthouse square, many historic building ad murals, Breanna’s soda fountain shop, and a 1921 bandstand. Olde Glory Days is sponsored by the local business community, which uses the July 4th weekend to show Clinton residents how much they are appreciated. Similarly, the celebration in Charles City, Iowa spans five days every year and attracts enough people to double the city’s population! A variety of entertainment and activities are planned for all ages, including its most unique element – a water ski show.

Located 30 minutes north of Baton Rouge, St. Francisville, Louisiana offers unspoiled outdoor recreation, a plethora of historic plantations, and culinary adventures ranging from fried chicken served up at a converted gas station to alligator bites and crawfish boils. Visitors shopping in the historic district on the 4th get to participate in a “flag pull.” Secretly marked flags are at every checkout counter, and shoppers pick one to receive discounts of varying amounts or perhaps even a special gift. After putting away all of their purchases, people gather to enjoy food, music and fireworks.

I don’t know about you, but these events sound like a blast. We invite you to catch the excitement and enjoy this holiday in your nearby historic community. Attending Main Street events, shopping at local businesses, and supporting your local revitalization program shows that you believe that Main Street matters. Want to find a Main Street near you? Search for one with our Main Street program locator.

And of course, it’s not too late to share your community’s celebrations and photos. Visit our Red, White and Blue Main Streets web page to submit yours today.

Andrea L. Dono is an associate editor for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Street Center. She would like to wish everyone a very happy Fourth of July.