We work in collaboration with thousands of local partners and grassroots leaders across the nation who share our commitment to advancing shared prosperity, creating resilient economies, and improving quality of life.
Made up of small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts, the thousands of organizations, individuals, volunteers, and local leaders that make up Main Street America™ represent the broad diversity that makes this country so unique.
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Community Spotlight: Welcoming Parramore to Orlando Main Streets!
Commissioner Regina Hill, Natasha Gaye, Aminah Hamidullah (business owners and micro-grant recipient), Mayor Buddy Dyer, and Candice Simmons (Wells Fargo). Photo by Tyla Harrington, ViewHouse Production.
Orlando Main Streets, a Coordinating Program with twelve districts in Orlando, Florida, welcomed their newest district, Parramore Main Street in February. Founded in the late 1800s, the Parramore area, along with the neighboring Callahan neighborhood, formed the heart of the city's black community in segregated Orlando, Florida. The neighborhood was filled with African, Caribbean, and Seminole Indian culture.
“At a time when communities were defined by race, the Parramore neighborhood achieved its own distinct identity, characterized by its residential fabric and its social, religious, and commercial establishments, and other institutions,” said Natasha Gaye, Parramore Main Street’s Executive Director.
During that time, Parramore had many thriving black-owned businesses. In the 1920s through the 1960s, the South Street Casino, owned and operated by Dr. William Monroe Wells, was a staple of the Black community. It formed part of the Chitlin’ Circuit, a network of Black-owned venues for Black musicians during the Jim Crow era. Many jazz, blues and gospel greats passed through Parramore. Despite that vibrant spirit, decades of low investment and poor reputation kept the district on the fringes of the wider Orlando economy. As African Americans left the south during the Great Migration and desegregation opened new opportunities in other areas of the city, many businesses in the area failed and unemployment and vacancies rose.In 2019, they began a mentorship process with City District Main Street. During the mentorship, they focused on securing funding and demonstrating feasibility. Through a grant from Wells Fargo, they were able to host a day of service, schedule a mural project, and plan a new streetscape. This work proved that they had the support and momentum to venture out on their own, and on February 1, 2022, they officially became the 12th member of Orlando Main Streets.
By joining Orlando Main Streets, Parramore will receive access to much-needed financial support and resources with the goal of bringing new businesses, strengthening existing businesses, especially Black-owned businesses, and encouraging overall economic growth. “It opens it up for new and awesome things,” said Dexter Sanders, owner of local business Dexter’s Birdland, to WFTV9. “You can almost feel the energy down here.”
“Through and through I am a compassionate, service driven leader,” said Executive Director Natasha Gaye. Both of her parents are entrepreneurs, and she is excited to work alongside small business owners every day and to assist them in elevating their businesses. “This work is deeply aligned with my purpose and passion, and I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to do this work each day,” she said.
“As a city, one of our priorities has been the revitalization of the historic Parramore neighborhood,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “The addition of Parramore District to the Orlando Main Streets program will continue to build upon the countless successes seen in each of our neighborhood commercial corridors, create jobs and opportunities for our residents, and further our continued effort to preserve the rich culture and history found in Parramore.”
A mural titled ‘An Ode to Parramore’ was unveiled on February 23 in celebration of the new district recognition. They also awarded a micro-grant in partnership with New Image Youth Center. The grant supports Power Up Parramore, an initiative to increase access to charging stations for everyone in the community. The stations will be used by students walking to and from school, individuals that use public transportation, and/or people experiencing homelessness.
“Currently we are focused on foundation building and really telling the story of our organization and what main streets do for their communities,” said Natasha Gaye. “We are looking at partnering with local organizations to begin hosting workshops for business owners, as well as engaging our community with family fun programming. We are also hoping to purchase some historical landmark site signs to continue telling the story of Parramore.”
In the long-term, the district is focused on reducing the vacancy rate, rehabilitating historic buildings, building community trust, and activating the district through cultural events. “We would love to be known for our rich history and heritage, and we hope that people think of Parramore when coming to Orlando,” said Natasha Gaye. “We want them to experience the culture of our past and present.”
Urban Impact Inc., harnesses strategic investments and collaborative efforts to foster a vibrant and sustainable future, from visionary adaptive reuse ventures to transformative development grants for small businesses and property owners in Birmingham, Alabama's historic 4th Avenue Black Business District.
Online registration and the regular rate are available through Friday, April 26. Download the conference mobile app, sign-up for the attendee webinar, grab some Shop Main Street merch, get recommendations, and more!
With just a little over a month to go until we convene in Birmingham, Alabama, for the 2024 Main Street Now Conference from May 6-8, we are excited to announce that the full schedule is available online and the mobile app is ready for download.
From budgets and staffing to programming priorities and the myriad of backgrounds that bring people to Main Street, the insights and key findings from this year's trends survey provide a snapshot of the state of the Main Street Movement.
REV Birmingham and Woodlawn United share how they work to reenergize spaces and places in Birmingham, Alabama, through civic infrastructure projects in the city’s historic commercial corridors.
With a specially priced registration rate of $199, tailored education track, free lunch & learn session, and abundant networking opportunities, Main Street Now 2024 is made for civic leaders passionate about community preservation and economic development in historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial corridors.
Opportunities to experience time-tested Main Street Approach techniques and creative solutions in action abound in Birmingham with these great excursions.
Starting in early 2024, we will engage in an intensive program assessment of MSAI. We look forward to bringing an enhanced Main Street professional development experience to the network later in the year.
Founded in 2003 and currently housed within the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), Michigan Main Street (MMS) recently celebrated 20 years of impact across 41 communities.
This three-week live, online course will prepare local leaders to more effectively work with small business owners in their districts and create an environment that is supportive of entrepreneurship.
We are excited to share a recent collaboration with Spark! Places of Innovation, a traveling exhibition curated by the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street program.
We are excited to welcome Jenice Contreras to the Main Street America Board of Directors. Jenice has a long record of leadership across community and economic development with deep experience with equitable growth, small-scale development, and cultural preservation.
Join Main Street America experts in Vancouver, Wash., to gain first-hand experience in harnessing transformation strategies to successfully revitalize your Main Street!
We are excited to announce that 862 Main Street programs across the country have earned Accredited status, Main Street America’s top level of recognition.
The MSARP credential is the highest level of achievement offered through the Main Street America Institute, requiring dedication to completing a rigorous curriculum of online courses, readings, assignments, workshops, and a challenging final exam.
Over the course of three days, nearly 1900 Main Streeters from near and far gathered for dynamic educational sessions, immersive mobile workshops, and network-building activities.
Check out our new shop featuring clothing and apparel, accessories, home and office goods, and kids’ and baby items inspired by the Main Street Movement.
Main Street America is proud to recognize John Bry, Program Coordinator at Main Street Oakland County (MSOC) in Michigan, as the 2023 Mary Means Leadership Award recipient.
We’re excited to announce a new suite of resources designed for Main Street! The Main Street Foundations Series provides an overview of each Point through four comprehensive introductory videos, one-page guides, materials from our resource center, and more.
From the ongoing pivots needed to meet changing community needs to the timeless power of place, these are the most popular blog posts we published this year.
At the Opening Plenary at the Main Street Now Conference in Richmond, Virginia, Patrice Frey shared lessons and reflections from her past nine years at Main Street.
Leverage NC, a partnership between North Carolina Main Street and the North Carolina League of Municipalities, hosted a four-part webinar series titled Better Community Planning & Economic Development led by Ed McMahon, Chair Emeritus of Main Street America and a leading national authority on land use policy and economic development.
A series of small, incremental improvements, when taken together, provide momentum for long-term economic transformation and improved quality of life in a community.
The National Main Street Center, Inc. announced the 2017 Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA) during its annual conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The National Main Street Center and the Brookings Institution have jointly authored a response to Mr. Hyman’s piece, The Reality of Main Street, that is featured on Brookings’ blog.
Michigan Main Street Center was the first Coordinating Program to implement the new Main Street approach on a large scale. In this article, they share their robust process and valuable lessons.
Fritz the dog has made his way into the hearts of the residents of LaBelle, Florida, and helped our Main Street Community find a way to make what we do more noticeable.
Back in October 2015, we introduced the three key components of the refreshed Main Street Approach: inputs, outputs and Community Transformation Strategies.
For a lucky few downtowns, greatness may happen effortlessly with a strong sense of place that seems to develop organically and simply sustain itself. For most places, success doesn’t happen by chance.
While there have been over $1.2 billion in public and private investment in Wisconsin Main Street communities over the past 27 years, what really makes it special are the people and places that have been involved.
Although a “beach town,” Rehoboth Beach is open 365 days a year, and with that has the unique challenge of catering to both year-round residents and tourists within a wide range of ages, interests and economic levels
In communities across the country, hardworking business owners and buy local advocates come together to foster an organized effort to reinvent and revitalize Main Streets and downtown districts.
The National Main Street Center is pleased to announce that Cape Girardeau, Mo., Montclair Center, N.J., and Rawlins, Wyo. were selected as the 2015 Great American Main Street Award® (GAMSA) winners.