Silver City, New Mexico Honored with 2011 Great American Main Street Award®

National Trust for Historic Preservation Praises Leadership in Smart Revitalization

Posted May 23, 2011 | Contact pr@savingplaces.org or 202-588-6141

The National Trust for Historic Preservation announced today that the Silver City MainStreet Project is a winner of the 2011 Great American Main Street Awards®(GAMSA). Recognized as a leader by following the Main Street Four-PointApproach®, embracing sound historic preservation ethics and building strategic partnerships, Silver City Main Street Project was honored at the Main Street Awards Ceremony during the National Main Streets Conference in Des Moines, Iowa.

The National Trust Main Street Center’s annual GAMSA winners are recognized for their exceptional accomplishments in revitalizing the nation’s historic and traditional Main Street commercial districts by using the proven Main Street Four-Point Approach®. Silver City utilized the Main Street methodology to combine its historic assets with local talents to establish the community as an award-winning destination for arts-based and cultural tourism and artisan manufacturing. This strategy has successfully guided Silver City through the recession and reduced the impact of mine closures and related unemployment.

“Silver City provides an excellent example of the power of building a comprehensive revitalization strategy that is supported by many sectors of the community and is built upon the community’s strengths,” said Doug Loescher, director of the National Trust Main Street Center. “Today, its investment in its small businesses and tourism development is paying real dividends—Silver City is squarely on the map as a regional tourism draw for its artisans, festivals and vibrant historic commercial district.”

To celebrate their award, Silver City MainStreet is holding a volunteer recognition banquet on June 10 and screening the "premiere" of the video created for the GAMSA application on June 7th at 6 pm. For more information, call 575-534-1700.

The other four winners include Main Street Fort Pierce, Fort Pierce, Fla.; Old Town Main Street, Lansing, Mich.; Downtown Newark Partnership, Newark, Del.; and Downtown Beloit Association, Beloit, Wis.

GAMSA winners demonstrate exemplary achievement in the process of strengthening their downtowns and commercial districts based on the following selection criteria:

• Active involvement of the public and private sectors;
• Broad-based community support for the revitalization effort;
• Quality of achievements over time;
• Innovative solutions to significant problems;
• Commitment to historic preservation;
• Evolving track record of successful commercial district revitalization;
• Comprehensive revitalization effort: activity in all four points of the Main Street Four-Point Approach® to commercial district revitalization;
• Economic impact of the revitalization program; and
• Successful small business development.

The winners were selected by a national jury composed of former award winners, community development professionals, governmental agency representatives who are active in community economic development and historic preservation.

The Main Street Four-Point Approach® is a proven methodology for historic preservation-based economic development that was developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation 30 years ago and is used in more than 2,000 communities throughout the U.S.