The Yellow Button, a clothing boutique for the fashionable in the heart of Harrisonburg, knows its cutomer. Students and professionals in the Shendandoah Valley don’t want to give up access to quality clothes and accessories just because they’re not in a major urban area. In fact, this 2009 photo shoot, which uses Harrisonburg’s downtown streets as … More Main Street Merchant Profile: The Yellow Button
Newsweek’s recent coverage of the ongoing turnaround of Vineland, New Jersey’s historic commercial district demonstrates the value of a coordinated approach to downtown revitalization. Their strategy involves increasing access to capital and technical assistance for emerging businesses, public and private re-investment in the rehabilitation of historic buildings, and community engagement in a downtown district. Sound familiar? Read the article, “How to Save … More Newsweek profile shows benefit of comprehensive approach
Filmakers frequently shoot on location to capture a specific sense of place, making the location a sort of character in and of itself. Location sites of Sex and the City are the subject of New York City tours. In New Zealand, Lord of the Rings fans visit the stand-in locations for Middle Earth. And closer to home, Mountain Lake Hotel (“The real … More Big screen plans for Big Stone Gap
Traditional holiday events continue to draw crowds downtown this year in spite of the bone-chilling weather experienced in many parts of the commonwealth. Last Friday, Rocky Mount’s “Come Home to a Franklin County Christmas,” had its largest turnout yet as guests enjoyed music, food, and shopping with vendors and merchants. “The horse-drawn carriage rides and the miniature horse … More Downtown remains the holiday gathering place
All along Main Street, changing technology is shifting buying patterns. Some projections put online spending at half of all retail spending by 2015, and smartphone applications like ShopSavvy allow for instore price comparisons against competitors. The challenge is to work with the technology where you can to increase sales while still maintaining the commitment to place-based strategies and … More New Google ebookstore a tool for local independents
The Danville Historical Society is modeling the way for youth outreach across the state. They have a board member in charge of coordinating youth activities, and they recently led the commonwealth by establishing the state’s first high school historic preservation clubs. The effort, simultaneously establishing clubs at George Washington High School and at Galileo Magnet High School, have piqued … More Danville effort first historic preservation club in commonwealth high schools
Floyd, Virginia is a small rural town located along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It has a reputation as an artistic community with a rich sense of place. Maintaining its unique character and scale while fostering a vibrant downtown requires foresight, planning and creative community development. Recently, four Virginia Tech students embarked on a project to help develop and attract new sustainable … More Virginia Tech Students Help Green Businesses Emerge in Floyd
Merchants make the Main Street, and Lynchburg’s Accents Flags and Gifts proves the point. Deborah Fears Keeling, owner of the 21-year old business, has been involved in Lynch’s Landing, the city’s Main Street organization, for seven years. But this year, she says, the events and cooperative marketing strategies have really taken off. In January, Lynch’s … More Main Street Merchant Profile: Lynchburg’s Accents Flags and Gifts
From the first American colonies to the modern college town, many Virginia communities have a rich history to share. Two VMS communities have recently been recognized for transforming aspects of their pasts into valuable assets for their downtown neighborhoods. Berryville Main Street has received the Virginia Downtown Development Association’s 2010 Building Development and Improvements Award of … More Main Street Communities Bring History to Life
In celebration of Virginia Main Street’s 25th anniversary year, Main Street Now, the magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Street Center, recently profiled the three communities that have maintained VMS designation throughout the quarter century. Over that 25 years, the communities – Bedford, Franklin, and Winchester – have navigated rocky economic terrain with strategies that make the most … More Virginia’s quarter century communities featured in Main Street Now
Virginia Main Street 