Batesville's Main Street Program Among the State's First
April 9, 2004
Batesville's Main Street Program Among the State's First
*****
By Craig Ogilvie, travel writer
Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism
Editor's Note: The following is one in a series of features on Main Street Arkansas, which this year celebrates its 20th year of service to Arkansas towns.
It seems only appropriate that Batesville, established as a trading post in the early 1800s and one of the oldest surviving towns in Arkansas, also has one of the oldest Main Street Programs in the state. In 1984, Batesville, along with Rogers, Osceola, Helena and Harrison, joined as pilot programs of Main Street Arkansas, a section of the state's Historic Preservation Program that provides technical assistance and design services to help create economic development in downtown areas.
Well into the 1960s, downtown Batesville had it all -- grocery stores, two hospitals, drug stores, a hotel, restaurants, banks, professional offices, department and variety stores, and two movie theaters. During the 1970s, though, traffic patterns shifted as shopping centers, supermarkets, motels and restaurants appeared along busy U.S. 167, east of downtown. Although Batesville's downtown district did retain several businesses, the area was in need of revitalization by the 1980s. Some observers believe the Main Street Program arrived just in time.
With solid support from the local Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Merchants Association, city officials and key business leaders, Batesville was prepared to jump-start the National Trust for Historic Preservation-approved Main Street program. The Batesville Main Street Committee, which was able to tap into a $250,000 grant from the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation plus funds raised on the local level, hired as its first project manager Dr. Diane Tebbetts, a Batesville preservationist and chairperson of the first Main Street Arkansas selection committee. After playing a key role in bringing the self-help program to Arkansas, Tebbetts was well versed in how it operated.
With a small Main Street mini-grants fund and lots of work, downtown Batesville started to reclaim its heritage during the 1980s. Many historic storefronts shed their modern facades in favor of their original brick and limestone veneers. Parking meters disappeared from all streets and several buildings were restored or refurbished. Today, an art gallery, restaurants, a vintage movie theater, banks and private and government offices have made restored downtown structures built in the late 1800s and early 1900s home.
And the improvements have caused downtown Batesville to once again become a vital part of the city. Since 1984, almost $3 million has been reinvested in downtown Batesville. During this same period, almost $279,000 in public improvements boosted the old business area, and volunteers have worked more than 8,000 hours on various projects.
Dave Timko, Batesville's Main Street program manager from 1988 to 1998, pushed for sidewalk improvements, more public events and the manufacture and placement of thousands of crystal lights that decorate the downtown area throughout the Christmas holidays. The current Main Street Director, Selina Anderson, has succeeded in securing additional off-street parking, improving landscaping and creating a small park.
Currently, Batesville, which has a membership of some 65 businesses and operates under an annual budget of about $50,000, is one of 17 Arkansas towns participating in the program. For more information about the Main Street Batesville program, call (870) 793-4632 or visit www.mainstreetbatesville.org. For information about the statewide program, call (501) 324-9880 or visit www.arkansaspreservation.org/mainstreet/.
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Submitted by the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism
One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, AR 72201, (501) 682-7606
E-mail: [email protected]
May be used without permission. Credit line is appreciated:
"Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism"
Batesville's Main Street Program Among the State's First
*****
By Craig Ogilvie, travel writer
Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism
Editor's Note: The following is one in a series of features on Main Street Arkansas, which this year celebrates its 20th year of service to Arkansas towns.
It seems only appropriate that Batesville, established as a trading post in the early 1800s and one of the oldest surviving towns in Arkansas, also has one of the oldest Main Street Programs in the state. In 1984, Batesville, along with Rogers, Osceola, Helena and Harrison, joined as pilot programs of Main Street Arkansas, a section of the state's Historic Preservation Program that provides technical assistance and design services to help create economic development in downtown areas.
Well into the 1960s, downtown Batesville had it all -- grocery stores, two hospitals, drug stores, a hotel, restaurants, banks, professional offices, department and variety stores, and two movie theaters. During the 1970s, though, traffic patterns shifted as shopping centers, supermarkets, motels and restaurants appeared along busy U.S. 167, east of downtown. Although Batesville's downtown district did retain several businesses, the area was in need of revitalization by the 1980s. Some observers believe the Main Street Program arrived just in time.
With solid support from the local Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Merchants Association, city officials and key business leaders, Batesville was prepared to jump-start the National Trust for Historic Preservation-approved Main Street program. The Batesville Main Street Committee, which was able to tap into a $250,000 grant from the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation plus funds raised on the local level, hired as its first project manager Dr. Diane Tebbetts, a Batesville preservationist and chairperson of the first Main Street Arkansas selection committee. After playing a key role in bringing the self-help program to Arkansas, Tebbetts was well versed in how it operated.
With a small Main Street mini-grants fund and lots of work, downtown Batesville started to reclaim its heritage during the 1980s. Many historic storefronts shed their modern facades in favor of their original brick and limestone veneers. Parking meters disappeared from all streets and several buildings were restored or refurbished. Today, an art gallery, restaurants, a vintage movie theater, banks and private and government offices have made restored downtown structures built in the late 1800s and early 1900s home.
And the improvements have caused downtown Batesville to once again become a vital part of the city. Since 1984, almost $3 million has been reinvested in downtown Batesville. During this same period, almost $279,000 in public improvements boosted the old business area, and volunteers have worked more than 8,000 hours on various projects.
Dave Timko, Batesville's Main Street program manager from 1988 to 1998, pushed for sidewalk improvements, more public events and the manufacture and placement of thousands of crystal lights that decorate the downtown area throughout the Christmas holidays. The current Main Street Director, Selina Anderson, has succeeded in securing additional off-street parking, improving landscaping and creating a small park.
Currently, Batesville, which has a membership of some 65 businesses and operates under an annual budget of about $50,000, is one of 17 Arkansas towns participating in the program. For more information about the Main Street Batesville program, call (870) 793-4632 or visit www.mainstreetbatesville.org. For information about the statewide program, call (501) 324-9880 or visit www.arkansaspreservation.org/mainstreet/.
Submitted by the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism
One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, AR 72201, (501) 682-7606
E-mail: [email protected]
May be used without permission. Credit line is appreciated:
"Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism"
Submitted by the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism
One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, AR 72201, 501-682-7606
E-mail: [email protected]
May be used without permission. Credit line is appreciated:
"Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism"