Main Street historic preservation great for looks, not always good for community, writer says

Preserving historic downtown areas in small towns is great for tourism but does little to compliment the day to day life of local residents, Kelley Snowden opines for the Daily Yonder. Snowden, who lives in East Texas, says towns that follow the National Main Street Center’s methods for restoring and revitalizing historic downtowns don't provide anything practical for local residents. (Kent Kanouse photo: Las Vegas, N.M. is part of the Main Street movement)

"The historic downtown is chock full of 'unique entrepreneurial businesses,' in the language of the Texas Historical Commission, including a seemingly endless variety of antique stores," Snowden writes. "But I don’t spend a lot of time downtown. There’s nothing I need there. I don’t need antiques. I need toothpaste, something to cook for supper and toilet paper. I can’t get those downtown."

"On those rare occasions when I do go downtown, I have to compete with tourists to get my business done. The streets and sidewalks are congested with traffic, and parking is at a minimum," Snowden writes. "While I’m glad that tourists come and spend their money, I really don’t want to get into a nest of them. That’s the problem with the Main Street program. It does a great job of helping towns preserve and gussy-up their downtowns, but in and of itself, does it really serve the broader local community?"

While the program encourages small businesses opportunities, many of those businesses don't last, Snowden writes. Few hire outside of family members, and the ones that do, often pay low wages with little to no benefits. Additionally, tourism is not a consistent business and often has highs and lows and seasons.

"All this taken together means that before your town jumps on the Main Street wagon, you need to seriously consider what it will do to—and for—your community," Snowden writes. "If your goal is to restore your downtown and create a hub for tourism, that’s great. It can do that. What it can’t do is single-handedly bring larger economic development to your town."

"If you are counting on Main Street to increase the number of people moving to your town, think again," Snowden writes. "People will come for good jobs, good schools, good neighborhoods and a good local economy. They don’t come for interesting architecture, quaint antique stores or old time soda fountains." (Read more)