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 – Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Globe Inn The Globe Inn was one of Gettysburg's oldest hotel-taverns, originally owned and operated in 1798 by town founder James Getty, and traditionally the unofficial headquarters for the local Democratic party. This political association made the Globe Inn a favorite of Confederate officers during their occupation of Gettysburg. They...
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Downtown – Vineland, New Jersey
We approached downtown Vineland for the first time through this alley. While a little bare, clearly effort was expended to make it more welcoming with lighting, banners, pavement, and some planting. Landis Avenue is overly wide with front in parking a service lane for parking to help vehicles reenter the...
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Downtown – Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Photo of the Proprietary House from July 2024. Proprietary House This house was built by the Colonial proprietors of East Jersey in 1762 with bricks which were brought from England. It was first occupied by Frederick Smyth, Chief Justice of the Colony. Then, in 1774, by William Franklin who was...
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Downtown – Newark, Delaware
Newark Academy traces its roots to a school founded by Rev. Dr. Francis Alison at New London, Pennsylvania in 1741. The school moved in 1652 to Cecil County, Maryland, and finally in 1767 to Newark, Delaware. Chartered by Thomas and Richard Penn in 1769, the school was closed from 1777...
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Downtown – Lexington, Virginia
Nelsonville "Bullseye" sidewalk paver. Produced by the legendary Nelsonville Brick Company in Athens County, Ohio, these highly sought-after collectible bricks were widely distributed throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The block is pressed with intricate concentric circles and parallel traction ridges, then heavily salt-glazed and vitrified to create...
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Downtown – Greensboro, North Carolina
As we approached Greensboro for the first time in 2018, public art on this retaining wall indicated that Greensboro embraced creativity and made it part of the community identity. Lebauer Park is a focal point of the community. Linear in orientation, it provides connectivity between the downtown and the children's...
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Downtown – Charlotte, North Carolina (2018)
We visited Charlotte to participate in the Livable Communities national conference hosted by AARP. Arriving late in the day on November 11, 2018, we had a chance to see the city proper by night. Then we got out to visit a diner outside of downtown. With the events of the...
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Downtown – Martinsville, Virginia
Martinsville, Virginia, is named for Joseph Martin, pioneer, who settled here in 1773. In 1793 the Courthouse of Henry County was moved here and the town was established. Patrick Henry, for whom the county was named, lived near here once. In 1865, Stoneman, moving south to join Sherman, captured Martinsville....
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Downtown – Summit, New Jersey
The Committed Pig, is an American brunch and burger restaurant located at 339 Springfield Avenue in Summit They are famous for a la carte brunch options, gourmet double-patty pork-roll burgers, and creative grilled cheese sandwiches. To the right, you can see the storefront for Cove Carpet One Floor & Home...
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Downtown – Somerville, New Jersey
Development took off when the old Easton Turnpike (Route 28) was laid out. Among the early developments was a fashionable townhouse for Ferdinand Vanderveer. He was a prominent citizen and county politician who served as the Judge of Common Pleas from 1822-1835. The house was later occupied by the West...
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Downtown – Red Bank, New Jersey
This sidewalk view showcases a beautifully landscaped curb strip lining the classic brick walkways of downtown Red Bank, New Jersey, situated directly across the street from the Red Bank Corporate Center. The textured urban garden island prominently features dense clumps of Sedum 'Autumn Joy', a hardy perennial known for its...
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Downtown – Old Town, Lansing, Michigan
Old Town is a neighborhood that specialized in making tools. It was a commercial crossroads by the Grand River with a mill, brewery, and shops. By 1900, it was a center for making plows and other agricultural tools. The arrival of the Olds and Reo motor car companies changed the...
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Downtown – Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Downtown Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania on Main Street has distinct storefront facades with the bay window balconies. This stretch of town regularly fills with white pop-up vendor tents for community traditions like the weekly Monroe Farmers Market or the massive annual StroudFest street festival. This street intersection is located at 7th Street...
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Downtown – Ithaca Commons, Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York, has one of the few surviving pedestrian plazas. In the 1970s several downtown areas closed streets to traffic to create a pedestrian area in the public realm. Very few of these were effective, and later the street was reintroduced in many. Ithaca has been resistant to this...
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Downtown – Fabric District – Hamilton, Canada
This public artwork is titled "Dressmaker's Manikin with Drapery". It is a permanent sculpture located at Kiwanis Place (at the corner of Ottawa Street North and Edinburgh Avenue) in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The primary piece is a draping study carved onto a headless, armless form resembling a dressmaker's mannequin. It...
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Downtown – Hamilton, Ontario
Meakins & Sons Brush Factory building, located at the corner of King Street East and West Avenue South in Hamilton. The white historic building prominently features a massive public art piece titled "Raise," painted in 2018 by local Hamilton muralist Lester Coloma and designer Norman Coloma. The monochrome mural serves...
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Downtown – Flint, Michigan
We sought out to find the core of the Flint's historic commercial footprint. Along the way we found exemplars of urban design in The Paterson building, numerous banks from the 1920s, and the Capitol Theatre completed in 1928 to resemble a lush Roman garden. The 500 block of Saginaw Street,...
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Downtown – Midland, Michigan (2018)
Heading into Midland, Live Oak Coffee House proudly displayed the outline of an oak in black and white against a landscape full of vibrant and colorful colors. Once downtown, the landscaping caught us right away. An effort was clearly made to utilize native plants and grasses. The Midland Visitor Center...
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Downtown – Suttons Bay, Michigan
St. Joseph Street (the main thoroughfare) in downtown Suttons Bay, Michigan, looking down the street. The wooden storefront on the immediate right houses the popular Bay Burrito Company. Located directly adjacent to the burrito shop, marked by its distinct sign hanging under the eave is Roth Shirt Co. The famous...
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Downtown – Leland, Michigan
Leland Harbor House, located at 101 N Main St. This historic, gable-front commercial building is a prominent fixture in downtown Leland. It serves as a combined retail shop and seasonal dessert stop, situated just a short walk away from the historic Fishtown waterfront district. Leland Champion Cottonwood Tree Monument, a...
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