Recognizing Exceptional Main Streets
Main Street America celebrates communities whose successes serve as a model for comprehensive, preservation-based revitalization efforts in their historic downtowns and commercial corridor districts with the Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA).
![A large audience gathers in front of an outdoor stage where a band plays; a banner reading "It's Happening in Hammond" is stretched across the top of the stage.](https://msa.cdn.rygn.io/media/Our-Network/Awards-and-Recognition/Great-American-Main-Street-Award/2022-Hammond-Louisiana/_1200x800_crop_center-center_none_ns/HappeningInHammond_FB-11.19.2021.jpg?v=1723819097)
Hammond, Louisiana © Hammond Downtown Development District
About the Great American Main Street Award
Winners represent the diversity of communities in the Main Street America network — small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts from every region in the country — and demonstrate the power of the Main Street Approach™. Since the inception of the Great American Main Street Award in 1995, over 100 Main Street programs have been honored.
Eligibility: All Accredited Main Street America programs, with an active Main Street membership and that have not previously won, are eligible to apply for GAMSA.
Application: The GAMSA application period typically takes place during the summer months. Eligible communities were invited to submit applications for 2024 GAMSA consideration from June 20-August 4, 2023.
Selection Criteria: Semifinalist and winners are selected from a nationwide pool of applicants by a jury of Main Street professionals and leaders in the fields of community and economic development and historic preservation. Criteria for winning GAMSA include: strength of the Main Street program in spurring community transformation, commitment to historic preservation, innovative programming, implementation of cross-sector partnerships, community outreach and stakeholder engagement, and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Accolades & Ceremony: Semifinalists receive media relations support and promotion through Main Street America’s digital platforms. Finalists also receive a promotional video, profiles on the Main Street America website, and additional promotion. We look forward to recognizing the winners at the 2024 Main Street Now Conference in Birmingham, Alabama!
Questions: Email gamsa@mainstreet.org.
The 2024 Great American Main Street Award is generously sponsored by The Hartford.
The Latest GAMSA News
2024 Great American Main Street Award Semifinalists
Join us in offering heartfelt congratulations to the eight Main Street America communities that are in the running for being recognized for their exemplary use of the Main Street Approach™ to transform their downtowns and neighborhood business districts.
![On a sunny day, diners enjoy outdoor sidewalk seating under the shade of trees and meals from a café located in a historic brick building.](https://msa.cdn.rygn.io/media/Our-Network/Awards-and-Recognition/Great-American-Main-Street-Award/2024-Semifinalists/_1200x800_crop_center-center_none_ns/CamasWA_GAMSA-2024_1.jpg?v=1723819098)
Camas, Washington © Downtown Camas Association