Dwight Main Street Inc. - Preserving Our Past For A Greater Future

Preserving Our Past For A
Greater Future

Dwight Main Street, Inc.
is a nonprofit organization organized in
1998 by a group of volunteers working together to enhance Dwight and its downtown area
by strengthening its community identity, preserving its unique heritage and rekindling the
economic vitality
of downtown Dwight into the exciting
central core of the community which it once was.

What is the Main Street Program?

It's a four-point historic preservation based program on downtown revitalization. It provides
training and technical support to participating communities as they move toward revitalizing
their historic downtown business districts.

A key focus of the Illinois Main Street Program is on preservation. As you probably have
witnessed, the original downtown areas in most Illinois communities boast a wealth of
structurally unique buildings, full of character and charm. And they are well worth preserving.

All successful Illinois Main Street communities have applied the program's four-point
approach to revamp their downtown's with benefits that extend beyond the downtown into the
nooks and crannies of community life.

With a sound downtown revitalization plan, a solid financial base, enthusiastic community
support, technical support from the state of Illinois -- and a lot of elbow grease -- your
downtown can become an economically viable source of community identity and pride.

What is the "Four Point Approach"?
A community's central business district often accounts for as much as 20% of the town's jobs
and 40% of it's tax base. But, Main Street is more than an economic asset. It is also a
community's crossroads, a place in our hearts and minds that evokes strong emotions and
helps define our identity. In recent years, many approaches to downtown revitalization, from
urban renewal to paint-up fix-up projects have failed because they focused on just one or two
problems, rather than dealing with the full spectrum of interrelated issues that affect traditional
commercial districts.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street Program offers an approach to
downtown revitalization that has been successful in more than a thousand cities throughout the
country. The four point described below are the keys to the Main Street approach.

Organization
means getting everyone working toward the same goal. The tough work of building consensus and
cooperation among the groups that have an important stake in the district can be eased by using
the commonsense formula of a volunteer-driven program and an organizational structure of board
and committees. The Organization Committee meets to plan fund-raisers and membership
recruitment. Contact Alex McWilliams to volunteer for this committee.

Promotion
means selling the image and promise of Main Street to all prospects. By marketing the district's
unique characteristics to shoppers, investors, new businesses and visitors, an effective promotion
strategy forges a positive image through advertising, retail promotional activity, special events and
marketing campaigns carried out by local volunteers. The Promotion Committee meets to plan and
organize promotions throughout the year. Contact chairman Tracie Wargo to volunteer for this
committee.

Design
means getting Main Street into top physical shape. Capitalizing on its best assets such as historic
buildings and traditional downtown layout is just part of the story. An inviting atmosphere created
through window displays, parking areas, signs, sidewalks, street lights and landscaping conveys a
visual message about what Main Street is and what it has to offer. The Design committee meets as
needed to plan beautification of the downtown. Contact chairman Sue DeLong to volunteer for this
committee.

Economic Restructuring
means finding a new purpose for Main Street's enterprises. By helping existing downtown
businesses expand and recruiting new ones to respond to today's market. Main Street programs help
convert unused space into productive property and sharpen the competitiveness of business
enterprises. The Economic Restructuring Committee meets as needed. Contact chairman Carole
Shields to volunteer for this committee.

Some of the information above is reprinted courtesy of: Illinois Main Street & the State of Illinois