WASHINGTON, DC — The 2009 Great American Main Street Awards (GAMSA) semifinalists have been selected from a nationwide pool of applicants and now move to the final round for consideration. A national jury composed of former award winners, community development professionals, representatives from government, foundations, and journalists who are active in community economic development and historic preservation will evaluate the semifinalists and select five winners.
The GAMSA Awards recognize exceptional accomplishments in revitalizing America’s historic and traditional main street commercial districts and will be presented by the National Trust for Historic Preservation at the opening session of the National Main Streets Conference in Chicago on March 1, 2009.
“These semi-finalists have all worked hard to bring about profound, positive transformation in their communities. They are inspirations to communities throughout the country,” said Doug Loescher, Director of the National Trust Main Street Center®. “True revitalization happens incrementally and is sustained over a long period of time, with small improvements leading to bigger ones.”
The ten 2009 Great American Main Street Awards semifinalists are:
| Aledo Main Street, Inc. |
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Aledo, Illinois |
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| Federal Hill Main Street |
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Baltimore, Maryland |
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| Livermore Downtown, Inc. |
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Livermore, California |
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| Main Street Toccoa |
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Toccoa, Georgia |
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| Main Street Oberlin, Inc. |
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Oberlin, Ohio |
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| Main Street El Dorado |
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El Dorado, Arkansas |
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| Main Street Fairmont |
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Fairmont, West Virginia |
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| On Broadway, Inc. |
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Green Bay, Wisconsin |
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| Rochester DDA |
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Rochester, Michigan |
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| Rehoboth Beach Main Street, Inc. |
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Rehoboth Beach, Delaware |
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The five winners will receive national recognition for their excellence, a bronze plaque and certificate commemorating the award, and GAMSA road signs as entrance markers to their award-winning commercial districts.
Semifinalists and winners demonstrate exemplary achievement in the process of strengthening their downtowns and commercial districts based on the following selection criteria:
Active involvement of the public and private sectors;
Broad-based community support for the revitalization effort;
Quality of achievements over time;
Innovative solutions to significant problems;
Commitment to historic preservation;
Evolving track record of successful commercial district revitalization;
Comprehensive revitalization effort: activity in all four points of the Main Street Four-Point Approach® to commercial district revitalization;
Economic impact of the revitalization program; and
Successful small business development.
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One of the points in Aledo Main Street’s vision statement is “new and continuing streetscape projects, including new awnings, green space, benches, lighting, etc;”. In 2006, Main Street and the City of Aledo partnered together to develop a comprehensive streetscape plan by hiring an architect and holding several public feedback meetings. Since then much progress has been made toward implementing the plan, including new awnings throughout the downtown, decorative lampposts, benches, and the new Central Park pavilion.
Aledo Main Street is working with alumni from the Roosevelt Military Academy (RMA) and the City of Aledo to determine the best location for a RMA memorial. The proposed memorial consists of a bronze statue on a granite base measuring a total of 13 1/2 feet tall. In addition to the statue, the memorial may also include saplings from the “Roosevelt Tree”, walkway, flower beds, and benches. The alumni have expressed the desire to place the memorial downtown to maximize its visibility.
The Main Street Farmer’s Market has been held in the Central Park parking lot every Thursday from 4 - 7 PM since June 11th. The market is often held in conjunction with other community events at the bandshell or under the new pavilion. The market has been an even larger success than originally envisioned. On average, 450 customers have visited the market’s 14 vendors and spend a total of $1,500 every week. The success of the market is a result of the partnership between Aledo Main Street, Aledo Community Schools District #201, Mercer County Health Department, Mercer County Farm Bureau, and University of Illinois Extension/Mercer EDP Office funds from the USDA"s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program for Illinois Where Fresh Is. Plans for another successful market session in 2010 are already in progress.
