DOWNTOWN WASHINGTON, INC. HISTORY

Downtown Washington, Inc., formerly a merchant's committee since the late 1950's, was officially formed in 1973 as the Downtown Washington Shopping Center. In 1989 the City of Washington was selected as one of the first five pilot communities for the Missouri Main Street Program. Downtown Washington, Inc. has been honored many times by the state, including the 1997 Excellence in Downtown Revitalization Award, the state's highest honor. Downtown Washington, Inc. has maintained its status as a Missouri Main Street Program and as a National Main Street Community. The organization was recognized in 2000, 2001 and 2002 as one of the 20 semifinalists in the Great American Main Street Awards program, which it the highest honor a Main Street program can achieve in the country.

Today the organization is led by a board of directors, elected from the membership. Countless volunteers also give their time to the many committees and events sponsored by the organization. In 1995 volunteers dedicated themselves to restoring the historic character and charm to a building on the corner of 2nd & Jefferson Streets. Built circa 1835, the horizontal hewn log house at 124 Jefferson now serves as the offices for Downtown Washington, Inc. Stop by and see us!

Downtown Washington utilizes several different volunteer committees, all working together to maintain the vitality of our historic downtown and the Main Street Four-Point Approach™. The Main Street Four-Point Approach™ is a community-driven, comprehensive methodology used to revitalize older, traditional business districts throughout the United States. It is a common-sense way to address the variety of issues and problems that face traditional business districts. The underlying premise of the Main Street approach is to encourage economic development within the context of historic preservation in ways appropriate to today's marketplace. The Main Street Approach advocates a return to community self-reliance, local empowerment, and the rebuilding of traditional commercial districts based on their unique assets: distinctive architecture, a pedestrian-friendly environment, personal service, local ownership, and a sense of community.

The Main Street Four-Point Approach™ encompasses work in four distinct areas — Design, Economic Restructuring, Promotion, and Organization — that are combined to address all of the commercial district's needs. The Main Street approach has been successful in communities of all sizes, both rural and urban. The Main Street approach is incremental; it is not designed to produce immediate change. Because they often fail to address the underlying causes of commercial district decline, expensive improvements, such as pedestrian malls or sports arenas, do not always generate the desired economic results. In order to succeed, a long-term revitalization effort requires careful attention to every aspect of downtown — a process that takes time and requires leadership and local capacity building.

Organization involves getting everyone working toward the same goal and assembling the appropriate human and financial resources to implement a Main Street revitalization program. A governing board and standing committees make up the fundamental organizational structure of the volunteer-driven program. Volunteers are coordinated and supported by a paid program director as well. This structure not only divides the workload and clearly delineates responsibilities, but also builds consensus and cooperation among the various stakeholders.

Promotion sells a positive image of the commercial district and encourages consumers and investors to live, work, shop, play and invest in the Main Street district. By marketing a district's unique characteristics to residents, investors, business owners, and visitors, an effective promotional strategy forges a positive image through advertising, retail promotional activity, special events, and marketing campaigns carried out by local volunteers. These activities improve consumer and investor confidence in the district and encourage commercial activity and investment in the area.

Design means getting Main Street into top physical shape. Capitalizing on its best assets — such as historic buildings and pedestrian-oriented streets — is just part of the story. An inviting atmosphere, created through attractive window displays, parking areas, building improvements, street furniture, signs, sidewalks, street lights, and landscaping, conveys a positive visual message about the commercial district and what it has to offer. Design activities also include instilling good maintenance practices in the commercial district, enhancing the physical appearance of the commercial district by rehabilitating historic buildings, encouraging appropriate new construction, developing sensitive design management systems, and long-term planning.

Economic Restructuring strengthens a community's existing economic assets while expanding and diversifying its economic base. The Main Street program helps sharpen the competitiveness of existing business owners and recruits compatible new businesses and new economic uses to build a commercial district that responds to today's consumers' needs. Converting unused or underused commercial space into economically productive property also helps boost the profitability of the district.
Coincidentally, the four points of the Main Street approach correspond with the four forces of real estate value, which are social, political, physical, and economic.

Main Street is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Each program is locally funded through private and public partnerships and is covered by a volunteer board of directors. It is precisely because of this grassroots approach that Main Street works. All actions are initiated locally and there is no big brother calling the shots.