Main Street Now – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
My Main Street Now conference started a day before the conference officially got in Philadelphia. A visit of two new colleagues to Princeton reminded me of why I’ve spent more than half my life and the last 17 years as a Main Street leader.
Evan leads a national nonprofit that takes vacant storefronts and converts them for artist studio space and Lili who is an economic development officer for a vibrant commercial district in central city Philadelphia. We started with introductions over freshly ground matcha at one of the newest locally owned businesses in Princeton. From there it was a quick drive down Witherspoon Street and a rapid fire walking tour through downtown and Princeton University. Along the way I narrated the founding of America and the outsize role that Princeton played. I recounted how John Witherspoon, a product of the Scottish Enlightenment, trained many political leaders who would go on to become U.S. Presidents and Congress members. As part of the training he helped to bring the philosophical concept of checks and balances. We passed by Nassau Hall, visited the chapel, and contemplated the statue of Witherspoon while discussing his legacy.
Our tour also touched on the art and the many galleries and institutions involved in making and shaping Princeton today. This included the Bainbridge House in one of the oldest buildings in Princeton where a cutting edge exhibit of pottery by an African American artist Robert Lugo is today. The Arts Council of Princeton and Princeton Makes were both open and also had art in abundance. Our tour ended in Trenton with a gallery opening at Cadwalader Park. By the time we concluded three hours after meeting, we formed a bond and verified our shared purpose that we love – to bring people together to make places better.
The following day I quickly made my way to Philadelphia after singing in the choir for the weekly mass at St. Francis Cathedral. Fittingly by tradition it was Passion Sunday, or the Sunday just before Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week.
With minutes to spare I arrived in Central City Philadelphia. My new colleague and friend Lili guided me and Evan along with several other leaders from across the country to see the district that she helps to care for and manage. We discussed pedestrian plazas, bike lanes, and sidewalks. Some storefronts with new women owned businesses were highlighted. Lili shared with authenticity and candor what it takes to make a district that works civically, socially, and economically. As we walked down the Independence Mall towards Independence Hall passing Carpenter’s Hall, the Merchants Exchange Building, William Penn’s house site, and the Second Bank of the United States where the history of the United States was made, I asked if she ever grows tired of taking this walk and seeing the places around her. The answer she gave was a resounding no. She actually fell in love with this place and taking this same walk even before she was hired for her current job. The truth that Lili shared in that moment of authenticity is that all downtown revitalization professionals are joined by loving and caring for places.
For me the work started in Albion, Michigan. In the late 1990s the town was struggling. Despite the hard reality of deindustrialization on this factory town, efforts to “list” the historic downtown on the National Register of Historic Places signaled a turn in the direction of a more positive future. I’d give countless tours and connect the downtown with the small liberal arts college that I attended over my three years as a student. Throughout that time I took a particular interest in how to expand economic opportunity, particularly in areas of concentrated poverty. This work took me to Detroit very near where my mother operated a veterinary clinic in the 1980s. Fast forward a few years later in Appalachia I was responsible for leading a Main Street program in Appalachia for four years between 2012 and 2016.
A through line from those earliest days to present has been Main Street America. In my 17 years in Main Street since attending my first Main Street conference in Philadelphia in 2008, I’ve seen a remarkable growth in knowledge and influence of one of the largest teaching and learning networks in the US. Currently in over 1200 communities, Main Street leaders are on the cutting edge of civic renewal, physical improvements, and economic vitality.
On the Sunday before the official conference started, all of the national staff gave a presentation to a room filled with mostly newcomers. They discussed work to provide field services, advocacy efforts, and resource sharing. Some highlights were the recent announcement of a national policy agenda, small business support initiatives to organize the 175,000 small businesses within Main Street districts nationally, and a robust research program including a real estate data collection tool that is the largest national database of historic properties in the US. Also sitting in the room was newly minted CEO Erin Barnes, though her big moment would be the next day.
For the last decade in New Jersey I’ve been the founding director in two communities that have, creation of over 200 businesses and creation of more than 1,400 jobs since 2016. From my roots advocating for renewal in some of the poorest communities in the country, to my professional career that has taken me to some of the most affluent places – this gives me a perspective of how to be part of an organization that builds trust across class, promote an abundance agenda that is largely community-based and supportive of locally owned business.
All of these things were on display during the first day of the conference. During the Opening Plenary there were discussions about leveraging local resources, building relationships and community support, and showcasing successful models from across the network. Following dynamic presentations by the Mayor of Philadelphia and Governor of Pennsylvania, CEO Erin Barnes took the stage.
Barnes began by highlighting results in the last year including $5.5 billion in local reinvestment, the creation of 35,000 new jobs, and the launch of over 6,000 new businesses across the Main Street America network in the last year alone. Some key initiatives Barnes highlighted included launch of the Small Business Hub beta version in the fall, and the new policy agenda for Main Street focused on six actions aimed at advancing Main Street work at the local, state and national levels.
Her talk shifted to a theme of “durability,” sharing four types of durability she finds in Main Street leaders, programs, and physical places.
- Durability in Places: Historic downtown blocks represent layers of investment, knowledge, and experience accumulated over generations.
- Durability in People: Successful main streets rely on networks of trust among staff, board members, volunteers, government officials, and business owners.
- Durability in Practice: The consistent practice of planning, doing, and reflecting builds trust and strengthens main street organizations.
- Durability in the Idea of Main Street: Main streets hold symbolic and emotional significance for many people, representing shared memories and aspirations.
Following a case study from Emporia, Kansas, Erin Barnes made a timely connection with the work of Jane Jacobs. For Barnes and her predecessor Patrice Frey, both frequently have cited the work of Jacobs and positioned themselves well to be present-day carriers of the Jacobs intellectual tradition that values places and realizes the important role played by people who inhabit them, love them, protect them, and perpetuate them for future generations to enjoy and benefit from. This carrying on of the Jacobs legacy is perhaps one of the most valuable services Main Street America and its leaders have provided in recent years.
Barnes discussed Jacobs’ concept of organizing complex systems, drawing parallels to the layers of infrastructure and governance that Main Street leaders must navigate. These include natural systems, transportation networks, utilities, buildings, and overlapping government jurisdictions. As she developed this theme a near total silence fell over the room. The truths spoken by Barnes facilitated a melding of the mind between the CEO of this 45 year old national network and the more than 2,000 people in the Kimmel Center who saw their life’s work reflected in the words of their leader.
Barnes emphasized a few key elements to success on Main Street:
- Creating a shared identity and purpose midst complexities that Main Street leaders face each day.
- Main Street leaders excel in relationship building, change management and sequencing large projects.
- At the same time personality management and split-second judgment calls is needed.
- In a moment of radical honesty and candor, she acknowledged how most Main Street leaders are women, but too often they are required to keep their passion and emotion in check because of social norms, and also too often give away credit for their hard work which they need to reclaim.
To conclude her talk Barnes gave a brilliant observation using video footage of the metaphorical “Main Street Magic Wand.” The video was edited to show Main Street leaders showing their town with arms in the air and fingers drawing the viewers attention to particular sites. The video was brilliantly edited to place a magic wand in their hands to emphasize the act of pointing and what they were pointing towards. With this the footage brought to life how abandoned factories are transformed into state-of-the-art affordable housing, streets with fast-moving traffic are converted into outdoor dining areas, a polluted automotive garage is repurposed with outdoor lounges and live music, and dead-end alleys are made into vibrant spaces for community events.
This led Barnes to her grand conclusion:
“This belief in change is the greatest tool that we have. With it, every one of us in this room has the practice, ability, vision, and power to change the places that we live into places we love. As a nation, we have great uncertainty ahead. Remember, we have come through tough times before and each and every one of us has power, so hold tight to your magic wands. It is truly an honor to be in community with you all. Thank you.”
Following this inspiring talk the Opening Plenary concluded with the announcement of the Great American Main Street Award winners. Joining the more than 100 winners nationally since 1993 were Denison, Texas – a five time semifinalist and winner on this most recent attempt; Jefferson, Iowa; and Raton, New Mexico. Each had an inspiring story to tell and the professionally produced videos illustrated that. There was such pride too from the dozen or more volunteers and staff from each town that took the stage for their moment of recognition.
After a short break for lunch, several more hours of sessions throughout the afternoon put the exciting innovation happening on Main Street front and center.
In one session, Grow America shared Seattle’s Business Community Ownership Fund with a case study from Donna Moodie, the owner of Marjorie’s Restaurant. After an informative presentation that detailed efforts to buy properties for small businesses and to keep the rents from escalating to the point they force businesses out, Donna gave a remarkable quote that I share in its entirety that really captures what this Main Street America work is all about:
I think a lot of people have seen displacement and gentrification happen in neighborhoods, you know, maybe their own neighborhood or neighborhoods that are close to them. The Central District in Seattle is historically, black neighborhood. It was at one point, historically, like, seventy five percent black. It became a neighborhood that was, fourteen percent black. And that gentrification has been studied nationwide. It was one of the most rapid displacement, that happened in a neighborhood in, the United States, like it happened in less than five years. And so what BCO is doing is bringing businesses back. And when you start bringing businesses back and you pair that with affordable housing, it makes it possible for all kinds of people to move into a neighborhood because it’s not just about racial diversity, but it’s about a diversity of socioeconomic, experiences that allow people to connect and meet each other, maybe change their narrative, and I love being an anchor, an anchor that’s, hopefully stimulate that to happen.
Another session focused on brainstorming strategies to integrate kindness and neighborly values into workplace practices, emphasizing employee roles in enhancing customer experiences. The participants were then given an opportunity to discuss how to achieve this outcome together when given photographs of an empty storefront as their canvas to figuratively paint on.
The Great American Main Street Award winners had a session giving advice to a full room about what it takes to get to the top of all Main Streets in the country. Donna Dow emphasized the importance of persistence, diversity, community engagement, and storytelling.
Another session led by Amanda Lanata focused on tactical urbanism initiatives, emphasizing DIY projects for community improvement, such as curb extensions, protected bike lanes, and benches. While tactical urbanism has been a frequent agenda item at least as far back as 2012 at the Main Street conference, Amanda was the first to link this work with the eight key principles of Main Street highlighting a few in particular: incremental implementation, quality, and visible progress. She critiqued some tactical urbanism efforts that did not rise to the level of quality Main Street leaders strive for. A spontaneous discussion broke out among participants about how to undertake this work and constraints local leaders face.
Amanda used her platform as a presenter to highlight a new second year Main Street manager Amie Poladian in Springhill, Louisiana. Amie took an underutilized existing open air pavilion and working with local artists and businesses who donated plants, turned it into a vibrant farmers market and community gathering place. The problem Amie identified early on is that no one ever went outside in her town. When people saw Amie painting planters and doing other enhancements in the space, they stopped their cars and joined in. At its essence this is what Main Street work was all about. It was refreshing to look back at my life’s work and see it through the eyes of an up-and-coming innovator like Amie and a statewide leader like Amanda. Again in this session there was a break out for participants to discuss their own tactical urbanism efforts.
Another session shared the experience of real estate development from an investors perspective. Topics discussed included historic preservation rules and regulations, leveraging grant challenges, addressing and overcoming insurance challenges such as having discussions about sprinklering of buildings as part of their adaptive reuse to keep insurance rates manageable, engaging minority property owners, and leveraging incentives. Above these technical realities the creativity required to do development on Main Street well was a theme that carried across all of the case studies. One in a former laundromat involved capping contaminated soil under several feet of freshly poured concrete. Doing this allowed introduction of a slope in the floor for drainage to accommodate a brewery that located in this space. There was a simple brilliance in this adaptive measure that would otherwise not be affordable in a historic space where the floors are level and need to stay level.
In the same time slot another session dealt with combating gentrification, supporting small businesses, and fostering community ownership. Again, relations with property owners, implementing below-market rent models, and anti-displacement efforts were emphasized, hearkening back to the session earlier in the day from Marjorie’s in Seattle. Prioritizing neighborhood-designed placemaking projects was a major finding near the end of the talk, linking with the Jane Jacobs legacy of people centered design. Collective governance and participation of philanthropic institutions were deemed crucial in underserved communities.
As if this all was not enough, during the final session the research team from Main Street America shared their BOOMS Tracker tool. This helps to inventory properties and their conditions in Main Street districts. The tool has rapidly expanded since its introduction. The staffers and designers responsible for it spoke enthusiastically almost to the point of hoarseness. Still the dedication, determination, and passion came through as you’d expect from a Main Street crowd.
Which brings me back to near where I started, giving my tour of Princeton with an imaginary magic wand for two new colleagues and friends a few days prior. Main Street leaders are joined together in practice. We have a practice of frequent gatherings. We have a practice of identifying needed improvements and then putting plans in action to improve them. We also have a practice of sharing what we have learned with others with no hope or expectation to get compensation in return. Instead we are part of the largest teaching and learning network in the US that has grown from 3 communities to a national network in the last 45 years.
While these professional accomplishments and the strength of the networking are profound, at a personal level since my conversion and confirmation as a Roman Catholic in 2019 this has deeply instilled in me a moral code with tolerance and pluralism at the center of my being and practice. Which leads me to the question what work is more meaningful and impactful than bringing life back to the heart of our communities, neighborhoods, and towns? What Erin Barnes cast in terms of magic, I think in terms of a spiritual reality. This sentiment is also echoed in the moving words of President John F. Kennedy in November 1962:
“I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for the victories or defeats in battle or politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit.”
The funny thing about places is if each generation makes more good decisions than poor ones, the places that grow us, nurture us, and support a full human life have a funny habit of persisting and outlasting us. The artist Piranesi when sketching the Colosseum one day looked up from his sketchbook and reflected how the crumbling stones around him were not the ruins, but, rather, he was the ruin.
Despite the many limitations that we have as human beings, and the unfortunate yet predictable nature to fall short, collectively as Americans we have the opportunity to do better by working together. This spirit of innovation and hope for a better future than our past or present is most powerfully captured in the places that we live, love, and work in.
After my long career I’ve come to the conclusion that the two most important things in life are to help a child grow or to help a community grow. I consider myself doubly fortunate as a father and a Main Street leader, however imperfect, to throw my entire head, heart, and life into my purpose, my calling, and the work that I love to do. And what a comfort it is to find myself surrounded my so many other people who share the same sense of purpose and passion. Nowhere is that more evident than at Main Street Now – the largest gathering of downtown revitalization professionals in the U.S.
We are the forces of repair gathering in neighborhoods and communities. We are the ones sent to help our country and promote the persistence of places that embody the unique heritage of the United States. I think the founders of our great nation if they were with us today would be standing on their feet and cheering on our accomplishment with the loudest voices in the room. For Main Street America is the fulfillment of the founders’ greatest hopes and the wish expressed by Abraham Lincoln in Gettysburg that the United States, “shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Day 2
Building on our successful pre-conference activities and the official full first day of the conference, we were not sure what to expect on day too. Sure enough, Main Street America met and exceeded our expectations today.
The Expo Hall opened early and a delicious breakfast was served. We took this early morning time to connect with a few key vendors including Yiftee, Placer.ai and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. Connections were made between several of these vendors and others from the New Jersey delegation.
A morning session was held just off the floor with AARP reviewing their flagship, demonstration, and capacity grants. The All Access Main Street pilot program was presented with ideas of how to link AARP with the four points of the Main Street Approach. Key actions recommended were to promote accessibility initiatives, leveraging partnerships, and enhancing outreach through resource guides and training.
As a repeat recipient of AARP funding in a prior downtown, hearing of the growing connection between AARP and Main Street was very encouraging. This presents an opportunity to cooperate with the pilot project and grow knowledge about the importance of creating places for people of all ages, especially for older adults, in our Main Street districts.
Hot on the AARP session was another one held by Vanessa Silberman from the Levitt Foundation. As one of the first ten Levitt AMP grantees in 2015, I had a first hand seat to the roll out of this intiative to provide free concerts in neglected public spaces in smaller sized towns. While in Middlesboro, Kentucky, we organized the community to activate a vacant lot by building a temporary stage, and laying son on the gravel parking lot to create an outdoor venue.
Building on this success by the second year in 2016 a permanent steel stage was fabricated and donated by a local foundry. Other updates to the Levitt lot were made to attract programming. This established a more permanent venue that is still active to this day – now nearly 10 years later.
Levitt now has three grant opportunities opening May 1, 2025.
Outcomes of the Levitt projects include fostering community cohesion, economic growth, and inclusivity.
The highlight of the day was a fireside chat with Mary Means, founder of the Main Street movement and Erin Barnes, the current CEO. The two took seats on stage before a full conference room. Mary began by reading the prologue for her recently published memoir, Something Worth Saving. She reflected at length on resilience, vulnerability, and the evolution of historic preservation in her lifetime with a particular focus on the Main Street program.
Peer-to-peer discussions gave an opportunity to review professional challenges, masks worn at work, and fostering community connections.
When the larger group reconvened Mary spoke about the importance of networks, grassroots mobilization, and preserving Main Street as vital community hubs.
Day 3
The conference concluded with the Big Bash at the American Swedish Historical Museum. While compact, the museum included exhibits from history through nearly the present day. Several historic rooms and period interiors give this museum interest at a whole other level separate from its theme. This links the Swedish Historical Museum with other museums featuring similar rooms like Winterthur in Delaware, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.