Mice on Main sculpture in Greenville. Credit: Greenville Roots. Mice started as a public art project thought up by Jim Ryan, a senior at Christ Church Episcopal School in Greenville, South Carolina, in 2000. Artist Zan Wells made a clay sculpture of each mouse. Then they were cast in bronze and installed throughout … Read more
Corbin has a reasonably well built up downtown. At the time we visited in 2016 there were some signs of a retail revival. Anchoring this were two businesses – You&Me Coffee & Tea and the Wrigley Taproom & Eatery. The Wrigley Taproom & Eatery made a conscious effort to source ingredients from local farmers. Also, … Read more
Kageyama providing the keynote address at the Main Street Now conference in Milwaukee, May 2016. Peter Kageyama delivered perhaps the most powerful keynote address I’ve ever heard at the Main Street Now Conference in Milwaukee this past May 2016. Following his talk I was so moved that it was difficult to put in to words the … Read more
Creative Placemaking Bootcamp, Main Street Now, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (May 24, 2016) It all started with an idea, and the idea wasn’t even ours — it was from a bunch of really smart people with the National Endowment for the Arts and leaders of other national arts organizations that convened in Washington, DC in November 2014. During their … Read more
This placemaking project sought to activate a surface parking lot adjacent to a conference center and hotel. While there were some well-intending efforts, overall the project did not activate the space. The site identification sign with a visible crack going through it.
This is the story of how a National Endowment for the Arts gathering of national arts leaders in DC that was listened to by leaders of a small town in Appalachia inspired them to connect with leaders in Milwaukee to transform a neglected park. The National Endowment for the Arts at their “Beyond the Building” … Read more
The juxtaposition of a train track through a tunnel is somewhat incongruous. Today it is possible to walk through and see the site as a tourist. Undoubtedly this natural feature helped when expanding rail access through a mountainous area. Trains, both contemporary and historic are featured at the site.
“Balancing Nature and Commerce in Gateway Communities,” The Conservation Fund, Sheperdstown, West Virginia (March 2016) This session provided real world examples of thriving rural communities and the tools and techniques they use; highlighted the keys to success of working with diverse public, private, and nonprofit partners; and provided an opportunity for participants to discuss lessons … Read more
