We’ve organized Field Notes by the four points of the Main Street Approach. These correspond with the four elements of real estate value – Economic, Physical, Civic, and Social.
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Downtown Areas We Have Visited
Downtown – Sherman, Texas
GRAYSON COUNTYIN THE MAINSTREAM OF TEXAS HISTORY FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY, THIS AREA WAS, IN 1837, THE SITE OF COLONEL HOLLAND COFFEE'S TRADING POST, A LANDMARK STRUCTURE AT THE PRESTON BEND CROSSING OF THE RED RIVER. IT WAS A FOCAL POINT, BEGINNING IN 1842, FOR SETTLERS OF THE IMPORTANT...
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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 atop this structure. I was fortunate to get a peek into St. Michaels church down the block. The stained glass, while narrow and compact, had...
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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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Downtown – Cocoa Beach, Florida
Ron Jon Surf Shop is the undisputed anchor for Cocoa Beach. There are a number of other businesses - both bars and restaurants - that contribute to a festive atmosphere downtown. Area142 is an outdoor performing arts venue with a private bar space for more contained activities. The "Downtown Cocoa...
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Downtown – Sebastian, Florida (2024)
In early 2024 we had an opportunity to visit Sebastian, Florida. Located on an inlet, the experience of this place is inextricably tied to the water. In the early 20th century President Theodore Roosevelt designated one of the first bird sanctuaries in the U.S. A local restaurant we stopped at...
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Downtown – Havre de Grace, Maryland
The First National Bank commissioned William Lewis Plack to design this building. Plack was inspired by the Renaissance-revival style made popular at the 1882-1893 Chicago World’s Fair. More specifically, according the architect James T. Wollon, Jr., the building is an adaptation of an 18th-century English gatehouse or garden temple and...
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Downtown – Hightstown, New Jersey
This gateway signage for Historic Hightstown is substantial and has external lighting so it also stands out at night. Monumental in scope it sets a tone for what people should expect in town. The streetscape and storefronts widely vary. An overload of signage and waterfall awning with excessive text detract...
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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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Downtown – Millburn, New Jersey
Millburn has an ideal location, close to New York City and at the foot of the South Mountain Reservation. There are many assets here including the Paper Mill Playhouse and the Greenwood Gardens not too far away from the downtown. Here are a few highlights from a recent visit. Fantastical...
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Downtown – Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey
As a frequent visitor to the Jersey Shore, we'd often pass through Point Pleasant Beach on our way to the shore. When an opportunity came up to visit and learn more about the revitalization happening there - it was too great of an opportunity to pass by. Right away we...
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Downtown – Lawrenceville, New Jersey
Lawrenceville is a small town with a few blocks of commercial buildings. Most are transitional residential type buildings that have been repurposed for commercial uses. One of the nice features of the town are passageways connecting parking to the rear with the street. This is because the residential buildings were...
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Downtown – Witherspoon Street – Princeton, New Jersey
A lot is packed in the roughly 982 feet of Witherspoon Street from Nassau Ave to Paul Robeson Pl and Wiggins. FitzRandolph Gate, the iconic main entrance to the Princeton University campus along Nassau Street in Princeton, New Jersey. Designed by the renowned firm McKim, Mead & White and completed...
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Downtown – Manchester, Vermont
Customized blade sign as a stylized coffee cup with steam rising for "Up for Breakfast." The name has a double meaning because the store is on an upper floor. Positive graffiti with the reminder that "There's no place, Just like this place, Anywhere near this place. So, this must be...
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Downtown – Kingston, New York (2023)
The James and Mary Forsyth House, an architectural landmark located at 31 Albany Ave, Kingston, New York. A two-and-a-half story, brick Italian villa-style home designed by the renowned architect Richard Upjohn. Completed in 1851 for local attorney and politician James Forsyth and his wife, Mary. The house was widely known...
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Downtown – Chelsea – New York City, New York
9th Ave and West 22nd St. Guardian Angel Roman Catholic Church. Lantern House. Marketed as "the bay window reinvented." Chelsea Market.
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Downtown – Carteret, New Jersey
Wayfinding signage The Carteret Performing Arts Center is one of the largest in the area. It holds several marquee events throughout the year. The revenues from concessions inside, including the sale of alcohol, go to support ongoing downtown revitalization efforts. Music notes and piano key crosswalks build a sense of...
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Downtown – Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton Battle Monument. Opened in 1896 to commemorate the American victories at the Battles of Trenton. St. Michael's Episcopal Church, 140 North Warren St. Built 1747-48; used as a hospital after the Battles of Trenton; buried in the churchyard is David Brearley, a signer of the U.S. Constitution. Quaker Meeting...
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Downtown – Salem, Massachusetts
Salem has a wonderful mix of historical sites and unique public art to fill in many of the gaps in between. The two primary stories are related to the Witch trials and the lives tragically lost, and maritime activities that supported literary pursuits and an ambitious building program. Most notable...
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Downtown – Waltham, Massachusetts
Arch and walkway leading to the farmer's market. Grover Cronin building with several stories of residential built overtop. Boston Manufacturing Company Cotton Mill, 1814. The original mill, constructed in 1814 by Francis Cabot Lowell and Patrick Tracy Jackson. It was the first textile mill in America to incorporate water powered...
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Downtown – Bluefield, West Virginia
We only had a moment to visit Bluefield. During that time we were struck by the urban character of a few blocks. When we arrived work was being undertaken to install what appeared to be a bus stop canopy. Nearby were several simple two- to six-story buildings with an urban...
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