TEXAS MAIN STREET CITIES RECEIVE NATIONAL RECOGNITION

NACOGDOCHES, Texas —  Longview, Texas has been commended for its successful annual progress as a designated Main Street community. The Texas Historical Commission (THC) and its Texas Main Street Program (TMSP) made the announcement November 2 at the annual statewide downtown revitalization conference co-hosted by the TMSP and the Texas Downtown Association.  Longview Main Street Manager Paul Anderson, Senior Vice President of the Longview Chamber of Commerce and Elaine Reynolds, Vice President of Downtown Development were present to receive the award for the third consecutive year.  “We are more than pleased for this recognition.  Downtown Longview has accomplished much over the past four years since reinstatement in 2007” said Paul Anderson;  “This is possible only because of the dedicated volunteers that are working very hard to move this program forward.”

The 55 National Recognition cities, which represent the real places of Texas, include: Amarillo, Bastrop, Bay City, Beaumont, Brenham, Bridgeport, Canton, Canyon, Carthage, Celina,  Colorado City, Corsicana, Del Rio,  Denton, Electra, Elgin, Farmersville, Ferris, Georgetown, Goliad, Gonzales, Graham, Grapevine, Greenville, Harlingen, Henderson, Hillsboro, Huntsville, Kerrville, La Grange, Laredo, Levelland, Livingston, Llano, Longview, Lufkin, McKinney, Mount Pleasant, Mount Vernon, Nacogdoches, New Braunfels, Odessa, Palestine, Paris, Pecos, Plainview, Rio Grande City, Rockwall, San Angelo, San Marcos, Seguin, Taylor, Waxahachie, Weatherford and Winnsboro. These cities will be further recognized as Nationally Accredited by the National Trust for Historic Preservation next April in Baltimore, MD at the annual conference of the National Trust Main Street Center.

“Throughout 2011 we have been celebrating the Texas Main Street Program’s 30 years of progress, having taken our first designated cities in 1981. Recognizing these cities for their efforts in revitalizing their historic downtowns takes on special meaning this year. The programs being acknowledged are large and small from all areas of the state, showing that the Main Street model is appropriate for all kinds of communities with historic downtowns,” said Debra Farst, TMSP state coordinator. 

National accredited Main Street cities show above average performance in ten categories on an annual report. Selection criteria focus on planning, partnerships, staffing, volunteer effort, preservation ethic, training and program assessment through reporting. For additional information about the national Main Street effort, visit the National Trust Main Street web site at http://www.preservationnation.org/main-street/.  For more information on the Texas Historical Commission’s Main Street program visit www.thc.state.tx.us.