The Main Street Program

A Helping Hand For Downtown Revitalization

In addition to National, State and Local Register protections, another valuable asset to downtown is the Main Street Program. Conceived by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1980 and formally established in Washington State in 1984, “the Main Street Program has been helping communities revitalize the economy, appearance, and image of their downtown commercial districts using the successful Main Street Four-Point Approach®. Main Street is a comprehensive, incremental approach to revitalization built around a community's unique heritage and attributes. Using local resources and initiative, the state program helps communities develop their own strategies to stimulate long term economic growth and pride in the heart of the community - downtown” as the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation website notes. Currently, there are 32 Main Street Programs in the state. Besides Ellensburg, the closest participating communities include Cle Elum and Roslyn in Kittitas County, Yakima and Selah in Yakima County and Wenatchee and Chelan in Chelan County. The Ellensburg Downtown Association, 109 East 3rd St, 509-962-6246, is the local non-profit organization created by the Main Street program. It executes the Four-Point Program of Organization, Promotion, Design and Economic Restructuring in Ellensburg that has been so successful in revitalizing downtown's across the nation. It is an award-winning organization with trained professionals who can provide valuable resources for local businesses and property owners in the downtown historic district.