Over the past century, historic preservation has changed dramatically in its scope, organization and practice. Once a primarily local enterprise that was in the hands of independent concerned residents across the country, preservation is now widely recognized as a legitimate public agenda item and planning tool.

Most early preservation advocacy actions were based on the efforts of concerned community members. In American preservation infancy (roughly, the 1920s to 1950s), sites or buildings were determined historic on the basis of their association with a famous historical figure, such as Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, or an event, such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, established in the 1940s, provided a stewardship organization to preserve and protect historic structures deemed most important to our country's history. For many local organizations, the National Trust also served as a national forum for community organizations, and facilitated the exchange of ideas and techniques. Still, preservation tended to focus on individual buildings as important relics of the past as opposed to functioning elements of the community.

This began to change following the passage of the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act, which established historic preservation and cultural resource management as a major concern of the federal government, and also established the National Register of Historic Places. This legislation was one result of a growing national awareness of environmental and social issues, including the impacts of redevelopment on America's inner cities.

Although some individual municipalities around the country had already established local historic districts and conservation districts, during the years following the NHPA many more communities followed suit. In the early 1970s, Seattle established its Pioneer Square Historic District and Pike Place Market Historic District, and also passed into law its first Landmarks Ordinance.

The success of historic preservation still relies heavily on the hard work and support of its grassroots community, but by the 1980s, protection of historic resources had also become a significant aspect of the city planning process in many areas.

Preservation Gets Practical

Although historic preservation was a growing concern for government and community members, it was also becoming clear that preservation ethics alone was not always enough to protect a town's important historic resources. To become an effective agenda, preservation needed to provide a means by which property owners and communities could protect their historic resources while at the same time meeting their own respective needs.

Part of this meant that preservation had to respond to market forces and the needs of the private sector, which is manifest in the numerous financial incentives and development bonuses offered by the federal government and municipalities around the country.

Preservation also needed to contend with the needs of historic communities as a whole, not just their historically significant components. Proponents began to look at the social and economic aspects of older areas, as well as the historical, physical built environment that made them visually distinctive. This is partly evidenced by the growing use of local improvement districts, also known as business improvement areas, in historic districts. Seattle's Pioneer Square established a Business Improvement Area in 1978.

Efforts such as these demonstrated to preservationists and planners that historic preservation could be successfully integrated into a comprehensive set of programs to have a much broader effect. Along those lines, in 1980 the National Trust established its Main StreetT program, which provided a multi-faceted approach to preservation rooted in community planning.

The Main Street program focuses on the vital connection between the integrity of the historic physical environment and the health of its commercial and residential communities. It is a comprehensive package of technical assistance and guidance aimed towards fostering historic preservation through economic development. Main Street helps local leaders identify issues and formulate strategies for the success of their communities.

The History of Main Streets

The Main Street program is rooted in the belief that historic urban centers are a vital element of the American city, both as functional neighborhoods for the 21st century and as important reminders of our heritage. Implicit in the Main Street approach is the intention to reestablish the inner city neighborhood as a center of commericial and social activities, and to help reverse the trend of neglect and decline that has occurred in many urban areas over the last half century.

Urban historians have always recognized the city as a vital and central element in American history, but more recently the city has been acknowledged to be a primary catalyst itself for the settlement of the United States. This is partly because the prevailing public attitudes concerning urban life have shifted dramatically over the last 100 years.

The city has been popularly viewed at various stages in American history as both a symbol of industrial success and progress, and as a dirty, congested and problem-ridden blight on the landscape. Cities have prospered and suffered at the hands of these changing perceptions and the resulting public policies.

Following World War II, American cities endured a decline of prosperity in the urban core. The increasing ease of getting places, due largely to the development of the interstate highway system and the availability of the automobile, opened up large quantities of low cost land for development. These changes in land use patterns, including sprawl, eroded the delicate balance that existed between residents, commerce and workplaces of urban communities.

People moved out of the older core areas and into the newer satellite developments, taking their money with them. In many areas in which business declined, the government received lower tax revenues from depressed property values. In some cases the tax base shrank, and older buildings were neglected. As the economic climate of urban areas suffered, so did historic buildings.

Over the past two decades, however, historic inner cities have been receiving more public attention for their important contribution to America's heritage. Historic centers have a sense of place that can only be developed over time. Many suburban centers, with uniform, car-oriented visual landscapes, lack the sense of place that fosters pride in community.

The Main StreetT Approach

The goal of the Main Street approach is to bring back and enhance a community on all fronts, including the social, physical and economic. As an economic development tool that is centered on historic resource protection and the retention of the community fabric, the program is considered a huge success.

Since it's inception, the Main Street program has been implemented in nearly 1,700 communities and towns nation wide, attracting over $16 billion in both public and private investment. In addition, many more communities have adopted similar approaches to community development using principles borrowed from the Main Street approach.

The program lays out a four part strategy and provides a philosophy to guide leaders towards achievement of the goals set forth by their community. The principle elements of the strategy are: 1) design, which stresses the planning and management of the physical appearance of a district, including historic rehabilitations; 2) organization, which addresses the relationships between stakeholders; 3) promotion and marketing; and 4) strategic economic structuring. The Main Street program refers to its strategy collectively as the Four Point Approach.

The philosophy guiding the Four Point Approach stresses a pragmatic view of economic development that places the responsibility for success on local leadership. In addition, it encourages the use of existing assets and utilization of both public and private resources to affect visible, impactful change.

The Main Street Program in Washington

Central to the structure of the national program is its dependence on local initiative. This is important both for its adaptability to the scale and attributes of individual communities, and its ability to address local concerns.

The level of participation state to state and city to city varies. State level Main Street programs are often coordinated through a state's economic development office, or the state historical authority. In Washington State, the program is administered through the Office of Trade and Economic Development's (OTED) Community Economic Assistance Center, under its Downtown Revitalization Program. Washington has been an active state-level partner since 1984.

The primary goal of Washington State's OTED office is to preserve downtowns and neighborhood districts using the best means possible for each individual community. The appropriateness of Main Street for a community, and the success of the program, is ultimately dependent on the state of a community in terms of its organizational development, and what its goals are.

If a community's primary goal is to enhance its promotional and marketing efforts, then Main Street may not be the best approach. Main Street is best suited for communities seeking a comprehensive economic development and preservation program.

Towns and districts can participate in Washington's program at three basic levels. At the least intensive level, the Participant Level, interested groups can sign up to receive newsletters, attend periodic downtown revitalization workshops, and have access to technical information at no cost. Participant-Level communities are eligible to attend a three day conference in the spring.

The Associate-Level services are offered following a competitive application process which takes into account a community's readiness to implement a comprehensive development program. At this level, participants receive intensive technical assistance and training with the goal of forming or strengthening an existing community development organization, and developing strategies and goals for that organization.

Partner-Level communities are certified Main Street Communities that are organizationally ready to implement more advanced, comprehensive programs. In addition, certified Main Street Communities receive the publicity and recognition as successful models of economic development.

Technical assistance packages generally include training programs and on-site assistance. The state provides teams of "resource specialists" who can assist a community group with the organization of its information, help it to formulate goals, coordinate programs with its various community or neighborhood committees, facilitate meetings with neighborhood or community managers and directors and provide training to community members and staff.

Washington currently has nine certified Main Street communities, including the Puget Sound area cities of Auburn, Bainbridge Island, Enumclaw, Kent, Port Angeles, Port Townsend and Puyallup. Several Seattle neighborhoods have also expressed interest in becoming Main Street communities.

For some communities, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) provides similar Main Street technical services through its national Neighborhood Main Street Initiative, a 1996 pilot program formed jointly with the Main Street program. In Washington State, LISC works in partnership with Impact Capital, an organization dedicated to improving local non-profit development through the use of below market loans and technical assistance.

Where can I get more information?

Communities interested in learning more about Washington's Main Street Programs should contact the Washington State Community Economic Assistance Center Downtown Revitalization Center.

For more information about the National Trust's Main Street program, visit their website at www.mainstreet.org.

LISC sites should contact their LISC representative to find out more. To learn more about LISC, visit www.liscnet.org. Impact Capital web address is www.impactcapital.org.

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