Great American Main Street Awards®
Each year, the National Trust Main Street Center recognizes exceptional Main Street communities whose successes serve as a model for comprehensive commercial district revitalization. These award-winning communities have demonstrated proven success in using the Main Street Four Point Approach® to create economic vitality, a unique sense of place, and a strong commitment to the community by all stakeholders.
Congratulations to the 2012 GAMSA Semifinalists!
- Bath, Maine
- Charleston (East End), West Virginia
- Culpepper, Virginia
- Havre de Grace, Maryland
- Jacksonville, Illinois
- Portland, Michigan
- Russellville, Arkansas
- Steamboat Spring, Colorado
- Historic Valley Junction/West Des Moines, Iowa
- Washington, Missouri
The 2012 Great American Main Street Awards® (GAMSA) Winners will be selected by a national jury based on successful as well as innovative use of the Main Street Four Point Approach®. The National Trust for Historic Preservation reveal the winners at the Opening Plenary Session, during the 2012 National Main Streets Conference in Baltimore, Maryland on April 2, 2012.
Read the official press release
Eligibility to Apply
Invitations to apply for the 2012 GAMSA awards have been sent. If you have not received your email and believe you are eligible, please sent and email with your program name, city, state, and network member ID to mainstreet@nthp.org. Also, check out the How to Apply page
The Great American Main Street Awards® competition is open to all National Main Street Programs accredited for two consecutive years prior to applying for the award. In other words, to be eligible for the 2012 Awards, your program must have been accredited in both 2010 and 2011. At this time, previous winners are ineligible to apply for GAMSA. If your program is eligible to apply for GAMSA, you will receive an email invitation with more details.
Selection Process
The Great America Main Street Awards® (GAMSA) application process has two stages — Preliminary and Semifinalist:
- The Preliminary Application is an online application and will ask for statistical figures from your community, narrative about your revitalization efforts, and photographs. A one-time application fee of $150 is due with your preliminary application.
- The Semifinalist Application will be required for semifinalists only and will ask for additional background material, including a short video, maps, letters of support, other supporting documents, and a resolution of support from your local government.
National Trust staff review all GAMSA entries using the established criteria and assign preliminary scores to each applicant. The top-scoring applications will be selected as semifinalists and invited to submit a Semifinalist Application. A jury of representatives from the community revitalization, economic development, and historic preservation fields will review, using the same criteria, the applications and select up to five winners.
Recognition of Winners
Winners of the Great American Main Street Awards® are officially honored at an awards ceremony during the National Main Streets Conference. The awards ceremony will feature the winners' achievements, as well as presentation of the award.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation will distribute press releases announcing the award winners to local and national media. Winning communities will also be featured in an issue of the National Trust Main Street Center's bi-monthly journal, Main Street Now, as well as on the www.mainstreet.org and www.PreservationNation.org websites and in other media.
Great American Main Street Awards® communities also receive a bronze plaque and a certificate marking their achievement.
Previous Winners
Aside from a brief hiatus in 2007-2008, the Great American Main Street Awards have been givin out since 1995. check all of the past winners.
