Cities and towns that have successfully revitalized their historic downtowns and traditional neighborhood commercial districts are now eligible to apply for the second annual Great American Main Street Awards. Each of the five winners will receive national recognition for their efforts at the National Town Meeting on Main Street in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, April 29,1996. The deadline for entries is November 1,1995.

Cosponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Edward D. Jones & Co. financial-services firm, the Great American Main Street Awards will recognize communities that have demonstrated success on a variety of fronts while bringing their commercial districts back to life, including: active public and private participation in the revitalization process; broad-based community support; success in boosting their downtown's economy; and adaptive use and preservation of key historic downtown buildings. Each winning community will receive a $5,000 prize.

"For too long, conventional wisdom has said that downtown business districts can no longer compete with the shopping malls and office parks of the suburbs," said National Trust President Richard Moe. "Yet every day we see real success stories, places where new businesses are prospering, jobs are being created, and historic buildings are put back into use. This awards program brings recognition to the five best, and offers some great examples for other communities to bring back their own Main Streets."

"Our offices are located in the communities where our customers live and work," said Edward J. Jones & Co. Managing Principal John Bachmann. "The Main Street philosophy —where business is conducted in a personalized way and neighbors work together to keep a community healthy and prosperous — has been vital to the success of our firm. This awards program gives us the opportunity to spread the word that downtown is alive and well and here to stay."

Communities wishing to apply for the awards program should write the National Main Street Center, National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1785 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036, or pick up an application at one of the more than 3,000 Edward D. Jones & Co. offices located throughout the United States. Applications can also be obtained by calling (800)441-2018.

Established in 1980 by the National Trust, the National Main Street Center helps communities of all sizes restructure their economies in order to restore, rehabilitate and use their historic resources. The Main Street Center has worked directly with more than 1,100 communities. During this time, approximately $5.1 billion has been reinvested in Main Street commercial districts, creating 102,000 net new jobs, 27,000 net new businesses and spurring more than 38,000 building rehabilitation projects. To date, participating communities have generated an average of more than $27 in new investment downtown for every dollar spent on the community revitalization effort.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, chartered by Congress in 1949, is a non-profit organization with over 250,000 members. As the leader of the preservation movement, it is committed to saving America's diverse historic environments and to preserving and revitalizing the livability of communities nationwide. The Trust has seven regional offices, owns 18 historic house museums and works with thousands of local community groups in all 50 states.

Page 26 / Illinois Municipal Review / September 1995