Beloit – National Trust Main Street Award, 2011 semi-finalist

No, Beloit has not won anything… yet. However…

This is very cool that Beloit is considered among the short list of those communities downtowns deserving of a Main Street Award. Time will tell if we get the nod. You can be sure I’ll be watching.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has been sponsoring the “Main Street” program for about thirty years now. It’s a program to support communities historic down towns because, as they say on their website…

Cities and towns across the nation have come to see that a prosperous, sustainable community is only as healthy as its core.

Beloit Daily News article here.

Sustainable, thriving and historic, center-city downtowns don’t happen by accident. Downtowns that are not making it are all over the place and easy to find. It takes a unified, and I’d say enlightened effort not only by the merchants themselves of course, but also city management and it’s residents.  The Main Street Program does a lot but it doesn’t do it for you. If not for the hard work of those involved and the support of the community at large… it doesn’t happen.

And if I may… I believe viable historic downtowns and their surrounding historic neighborhoods work in sync and are mutually supportive. As I’ve said before and elsewhere, proximity is one of the best parts of old house, historic district living. And living just down the street from a thriving downtown is… well, cool.

As it happens only last night Downtown Beloit hosted one of its many yearly downtown events, Holidazzle. It was very well attended. There was music everywhere. Lots of friends, good energy, LOTS of folks WALKING around going from place-to-place. It’s something you can do in a downtown. I can’t imagine something like this even being possible in a suburban strip-malled shopping environment. I don’t believe people (consumers) make the kind of personal connection with generic, franchised retailers out along the interstate. Perhaps that just me.

I do believe Beloit has something special and uncommon here. And they’re wise enough to recognize it and capitalize on it.

I first became aware of Main Street ~ twenty years ago when living in IL. A couple of communities in particular I thought were particularly attractive because of their downtowns. Libertyville, where I lived for a time and Naperville I discovered were both Main Street communities. So I’d seen what it can do.

Capitalizing on the unique character and potential of historic downtowns is not just a Savannah GA thing. Or closer to home, Galena IL thing. Or closer to home Lake Geneva WI thing. It works for no-nonsense, pragmatic, non-sentimental, bottom line minded mid-west communities like Beloit.

Earlier this week I found out that it’s official, Paddle & Trail will the next new merchant coming to down town Beloit. (they’ll be located alongside the new canoe launch on the river… also downtown) Last night was Holidazzle in downtown Beloit and was big fun. The kicker of finding that Beloit is on the short list of Main Street Award winners this morning seemed a fitting, well deserved and timely tribute.

(The new canoe launch opened up last spring. That white building is the back of where Paddle & Trail will be moving in. Cool huh?)