Building dementia-friendly communities
How businesses and communities can become dementia-friendly in the areas of support, training and understanding. Read More
Mayville, Racine named newest Wisconsin Main Street communities
Main Street Mayville and the Downtown Racine Corporation have been designated as the newest Wisconsin Main Street communities by WEDC, joining a select group of communities that have demonstrated a sustained commitment to revitalizing their commercial districts. Read More
Recruiting new businesses to downtown
The final article in a series on a strong downtown business community, including the importance to taking the time to identify prospects and craft a message and marketing package before starting recruiting new businesses. Read More
Identifying market opportunities
Part two of a three-part series on ways to help communities build a strong, resilient and attractive downtown business mix. Read More
Building a strong downtown business community
Having a strong, resilient and attractive downtown business mix can help you build a better downtown business community. Read More
The value in continuing education
Continued education provides valuable opportunities to network, gain new skills and get new ideas for your downtowns and historic commercial districts. Read More
Moving beyond the past
Not only does a culture of yes create new opportunities, but also promotes a positive atmosphere, encouraging entrepreneurs, artists and innovators to engage with the community. Read More
What does it mean to be family-friendly?
Is your community people-friendly? Creating spaces that work for both people who are age 8 and those age 80 or over will result in spaces that accommodate all types of users in comfort. Read More
Cultivating a business-friendly community
What does it mean to be business-friendly? If your community believes that it has a culture of saying yes to small businesses, what has been done to verify and credibly promote this culture? Read on to see how you can test this in your community. Read More
Creating a ‘culture of yes’ in your community
This ability to test drive a concept makes it less scary (and potentially avoids the need to follow all the rules from the outset), while still allowing a community to acknowledge a problem and explore creative solutions. Read More
A layperson’s guide to historic commercial building styles in Wisconsin
Written by Joe Lawniczak, Wisconsin Main Street | Edited by Jim Draeger, Wisconsin Historical Society If you’re like most people, being able to identify a building’s architectural style is
The Main Street America updates resources
With new direction, the National Main Street Center has been diligently working to supply new or updated support materials for designated Main Street America™ programs. They have also focused on developing a user-friendly web experience, and the fruits of this labor were revealed in the summer of 2017 when the new mainstreet.org was launched. The new site’s goal was to bring the resources of a national network into an easy-to-navigate portal. When you visit for the first time you’ll notice the professional photos that capture Main Street America™ programs at their best. Read More