Press Release
2006 Great American Main Street Awards Announced
NEW ORLEANS (June 6, 2006) – Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Doug Loescher, director of the National Trust Main Street Center®, today announced the 2006 Great American Main Street Award winners during the 2006 National Main Streets Conference in New Orleans. In recognition of their successful efforts in revitalizing their commercial districts through historic preservation, the 2006 Great American Main Street Award winners are: El Reno, Oklahoma; Lynchburg, Virginia; Natchitoches, Louisiana.; and Parsons, Kansas.
EL RENO, Okla.—Using the Main Street Approach and building on incremental achievements, El Reno has laid the groundwork for future revitalization successes while celebrating its rich historic past. Since its formation in 1988, the El Reno Main Street organization has developed cooperative partnerships with merchant, tourism, and historic preservation organizations to implement its commercial district revitalization efforts and engage the full spectrum of the community. The community hosts what has become a nationally-recognized festival, the Fried Onion Burger Day Festival, which attracts over 20,000 visitors to the district each May. El Reno’s historic preservation revitalization ethic is evident in the rehabilitation of 109 historic buildings and 78 facades and the development of a successful heritage tourism product—Heritage Express Trolley, which capitalizes on El Reno’s rich rail heritage and is the only rail-based trolley in the state. Its Main Street program hosts Upper Story Tours to encourage residential development and disseminates “Main Street Express” email blasts to keep potential property owners and other stakeholders informed about commercial district improvements, events, and available properties. Since 1988, El Reno has leveraged $1.9 million in public investment and $7.5 million in private investment, reduced its first-floor vacancy rate to only five percent, and created an astounding 106 net new businesses and 240 net new jobs.
LYNCHBURG, Va.—This riverfront community bounced back from floods and economic challenges using a broad-based, community-driven revitalization effort led by its Main Street program, Lynch’s Landing. The organization’s diversified public and private funding enabled it to launch marketing campaigns to attract customers, tourists, and investors alike. Over the last six years, Lynchburg’s 32 annual promotional events attracted 446,100 visitors who spent $21 million downtown. The organization’s business recruitment and retention efforts brought 37 net new businesses and 356 net new jobs to the historic commercial district. Residents are returning to this once-abandoned riverfront community to live in the Riverviews Artspace loft apartments. Annually, 90,000 people flock to Amazement Square, a multi-disciplinary children’s museum housed in a rehabbed historic industrial building, which is one of 57 historic building rehab projects. With a total public investment of over $35 million and a private investment over $28 million since 2000, the revitalization of Lynchburg’s historic commercial district shows no signs of stopping.
NATCHITOCHES, La. — Natchitoches’ commercial district is located in a National Historic Landmark District and the Cane River National Heritage Area. The city-funded Natchitoches Main Street program, which Louisiana Main Street designated in 1993, cultivates strong partnerships with preservation, economic development, and tourism organizations to gain broad-based support of its commercial district revitalization efforts. When faced with the challenge of creating a year-round customer base for its merchants, the Main Street program leveraged the commercial district’s historic assets—namely its architecture and its location in the Cane River Heritage Area - to develop a successful heritage tourism program and recruit a mix of businesses that positioned Natchitoches as a niche market for weddings, honeymooners, and retirees. As a result, the town has received national recognition and a spot on the National Trust’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations list. Today, Natchitoches attracts over 1 million visitors annually and has reduced its commercial-district vacancy rate from 65 to one percent. The community is home to 80 new businesses, 210 net new jobs, and 43 renovated historic building projects. As a result of its commercial district revitalization efforts since 1993, Natchitoches Main Street and its revitalization partners have leveraged $15 million in public support into $48 million of private investment.
PARSONS, Kan.—Like many communities across the U.S., Parsons participated in urban renewal projects that decimated the town’s architectural heritage by razing many historic buildings and creating a pedestrian mall that deterred customers and drove away businesses. The town’s economic decline was compounded by a devastating tornado in 2000. Since establishing a Main Street program in 2001, which is led by the Downtown Parsons organization, the community has leveraged $5.4 million in private investments and $3.3 million in public investments, reduced its commercial building vacancy to one percent, rehabbed three historic buildings, and restored 26 building facades. It recruited 27 new businesses and created 60 new jobs through its Retail Recruitment Grant program. Innovative marketing strategies, such as a popular bi-weekly radio show, have attracted customers and residents back to Parsons’ historic commercial district. After 40 years of decline, accelerated by a misguided urban renewal project, Parsonians now have rediscovered an inviting and vibrant downtown. It is an exciting time for merchants, property owners and consumers alike.
For more information about Great American Main Street Awards program and the 2006 winners, visit www.mainstreet.org/awards or call (202) 588-6219.