Book Review – Key to the City

Book Review – Key to the City

Today I had the great pleasure of hearing Sara C. Bronin give her views on zoning. Author of the recently published book "Key to the City," she has a unique perspective of the many maladies caused by outdated zoning laws from the 1950s and 1960s with large lot zoning and...
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The Great Elephant March – New York City, New York

The Great Elephant March – New York City, New York

On a recent visit to New York a slow down allowed us to take in the Lincoln Tunnel approach from New Jersey. Somber preparations has begun for the 9/11 commemorations. I've always admired the Art Deco style pylons. We made a quick stop at Gotham West Market with different food...
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Downtown – Rahway, New Jersey

Downtown – Rahway, New Jersey

This handsome station and plaza are a common sight for commuters. One needs to walk a few blocks away to see some exciting things happening. This monument on the Plaza recognizes Nikola Tesla. Apparently he had an important role bringing electricity to Rahway. It would be interesting to know more...
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Downtown – Suffern, New York

Downtown – Suffern, New York

It's not every day that I get chance to take multiple trains from my home in Metuchen to just across the state line into New York. When visiting for a few short minutes I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Suffern is a town with Revolutionary War ties and...
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Downtown – Occoquan, Virginia

Downtown – Occoquan, Virginia

This cast concrete block building on the edge of town makes use of this distinctive building material. Upon entering town this skinny vernacular cottage caught our attention for the detailed spindle work. The town of Occoquan originated in 1758 when John Ballentine built his home Rockledge. Grist mills, a foundry,...
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Downtown – Atlantic City, New Jersey

Downtown – Atlantic City, New Jersey

The entrance into Atlantic City gives a nice sense of arrival with these vertical pylons with stylized letters. A cluster of national chain stores makes it clear this is a shopping destination. The Nike store has pride of place while turning the corner towards the major resorts on the shore....
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10th National Eucharistic Congress – Indianapolis, Indiana (2024)

10th National Eucharistic Congress – Indianapolis, Indiana (2024)

The first National Eucharistic Congress in over eight decades was an opportunity for Catholics throughout the U.S. and the world to reaffirm the presence of the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Four pilgrimage routes converged in Indianapolis after travelling through the country for sixty days. One...
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Strategic Doing Credo

Strategic Doing Credo

This morning on the weekly Strategic Doing talk I was reminded of the credo for Strategic Doing. It's been exciting to me as a Strategic Doing Practitioner to watch these ideas grow. This discipline has proven effective to build collaborations quickly and achieve scale with better coherence and communication. Work...
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Downtown – Cranford, New Jersey

Downtown – Cranford, New Jersey

Cleveland Plaza is a level of architectural intervention unusual for an older building. The canopy on steel and reinforced concrete armature gives a neat hat to this building. i was fortunate to get a peak into St. Michaels church down the block. The stained glass, while narrow and compact had...
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Downtown – Toms River, New Jersey

Downtown – Toms River, New Jersey

Toms River proudly displays how they are one of approximately two dozen Main Street New Jersey communities in the state on the entry signage to their downtown. As the county seat for Ocean County there is a preponderance of offices here for the county, the Municipality, various organizations, and many...
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Main Street Now – Birmingham, Alabama (2024), Part 2

Main Street Now – Birmingham, Alabama (2024), Part 2

Earlier we shared our story from arriving in Birmingham through the close of the Opening Plenary on Day 1. This post will cover the time after the Opening Plenary on Monday and before leaving Tuesday afternoon. A full day of programming was available Monday afternoon. I started by heading my...
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Terminal A – Newark, New Jersey

Terminal A – Newark, New Jersey

Recently Terminal A in Newark, NJ, was named the best new terminal in the world. Almost immediately upon arriving it was apparent why. Great thought went into designing an environment worthy of the travel experience. From the way finding, to seating, to public art, and retail mix with many local...
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Double-Diamond Design

Double-Diamond Design

There are two phases of design work: to define a problem and develop a solution. Each phase has a diverge and converge element. Defining problems begins by understanding of space and the awareness that all problems can't be solved. Then it converges on how to best serve customers in a...
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Equitable Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and the New Economic Development Audience

Equitable Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and the New Economic Development Audience

Today the results from the Equitable Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Rural Communities Pilot Program . Main Street America has positioned itself well at the center of these important discussions, continuing many years of excellent work with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Several important findings were shared. Acknowledge and address imbalances and...
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Downtown – Florence, South Carolina (2023)

Downtown – Florence, South Carolina (2023)

We drove from New Jersey for a chance to see one of the three Great American Main Street Award winners for that year. My colleague Hannah Davis joined me to give a tour of Florence to me and my two kids who were travelling with me. Right away we were...
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Main Street Now – Boston, Massachusetts (2023)

Main Street Now – Boston, Massachusetts (2023)

The following are my recollections from the Main Street Now conference in Boston, Massachusetts. This was written 15 months after the conference itself. We drove from New Jersey to Boston, crossing the Hudson River on the still relatively new Mario Cuomo bridge. Joining me on the trip this year was...
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Main Street America Stories Project

We've pulled together the following articles from across the Main Street America network. From these we hope to be able to tell the story of the growth of Main Street programs at the state and local levels. Anyone who would like to contribute articles for this project are welcome to...
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Kremer Family Garden – 2023

Kremer Family Garden – 2023

Note: the story of how our family garden came to be is here. Below are brief updates from the garden. 2023-Feb-26: We started a new grow operation with approximately 300 seeds of 12 different varieties. These included favorites that we re-plant from seeds collected, year after year. There were also...
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How the Progressive Republican who Named Metuchen, New Jersey, ‘The Brainy Borough’ was Run Out of Town

How the Progressive Republican who Named Metuchen, New Jersey, ‘The Brainy Borough’ was Run Out of Town

Truman Pierson, 1906. For the man who named Metuchen the Brainy Borough, there is a little-known story about how this newspaper reporter, turned utility superintendent, turned postmaster, turned Republican committee member, turned real estate and insurance agent, took on the bosses that led the Republican Party in New Jersey and...
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Gregory Costa Building, 416 Main Street – Metuchen, New Jersey

Gregory Costa Building, 416 Main Street – Metuchen, New Jersey

Gregory Costa The 1915 Census of the State of New Jersey shows Gregory Costa, his wife, two sons, and a maid living at 416 Main Street. They were all born in Italy. Costa’s occupation was confectioner. Costa had paid $2,000 for the lot which was the largest price ever paid...
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