Main Street Maine Communities
In 2001, The Maine Downtown
Center was delighted to designate Bath Gardiner ,Saco , and Waterville as our first Main Street Maine communities. In 2002,
Eastport and Norway
were selected as our second round of Main Street Maine communities. The Center
also awarded the towns of Van Buren Downtown Center Associate Community status
in 2002.
At its heart, the Main
Street Maine program is about local initiative and self-help. Each of these
communities has entered into a three-year partnership with the Maine Downtown
Center. They have each agreed to hire a downtown manager and establish a
non-profit organization focused on downtown revitalization – all paid for
locally by businesses, individuals and municipal government. They have also
agreed to use the Main Street Approach, which relies heavily on local volunteer
efforts. And they have agreed to share lessons learned with other Maine
communities. This website is part of this sharing and outreach process.
Main Street Maine communities
are part of a national network of over 1,600 Main Street communities that are
employing the Main Street or 4-point approach to accomplish downtown
revitalization.
Main Street Maine
communities are selected by the Maine Downtown Center through a statewide
competitive process during which they are judged on five separate criteria:
local funding commitment, breadth of support, a vision and work plan for
downtown revitalization, existing capacity, and the likelihood of demonstrable
change. The Maine Downtown Center selects towns and cities for the Main Street
Maine program that are able to demonstrate success.
Click on any one of the
designated Main Street Maine Communities to learn more about their histories,
characteristics and initial priorities for downtown revitalization. When
available, a list of current Board members and contact details is also provided
for each community.
Eastport for Pride
Bath Main Street, Inc.
Norway Downtown Revitalization Group
Saco Spirit
Waterville Main Street
