Tres miembros del personal de Main Street America delante de un mural en Marion, Iowa.

Marion, Iowa © Tasha Sams

Acerca de

Trabajamos en colaboración con miles de socios locales y líderes de base de todo el país que comparten nuestro compromiso de fomentar la prosperidad compartida, crear economías resistentes y mejorar la calidad de vida.

Visión general Quiénes somos Cómo trabajamos Colaboraciones de socios Nuestros colaboradores Nuestro equipo Oportunidades de empleo Póngase en contacto con nosotros
Dos miembros de la comunidad de Emporia Kansas posan con un cartel que dice "Soy un Main Streeter"

Emporia, Kansas © Emporia Main Street

Nuestra red

Formadas por pueblos pequeños, comunidades de tamaño medio y distritos comerciales urbanos, las miles de organizaciones, personas, voluntarios y líderes locales que componen Main Street America™ representan la amplia diversidad que hace que este país sea tan singular.

Visión general Programas de coordinación Comunidades de Main Street Impacto colectivo Premios y reconocimientos Marco comunitario de evaluación Únete al movimiento
Dionne Baux y un socio de MSA trabajando en Bronzeville, Chicago.

Chicago, Illinois © Main Street America

Recursos

¿Busca estrategias y herramientas que le ayuden en su trabajo? Sumérgete en el Centro de Recursos de Main Street y explora una amplia gama de recursos, entre los que se incluyen nuestro extenso Centro de Conocimientos, oportunidades de desarrollo profesional, ofertas de servicios sobre el terreno, apoyo a la promoción y mucho más.

Visión general Centro de conocimiento Servicios de campo Relaciones gubernamentales Conferencia Main Street Now Instituto Main Street America Apoyo a las pequeñas empresas Allied Member Services El punto Área de miembros
Personas en e-scooters en Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo, Iowa © Main Street Waterloo

Lo último

Su ventanilla única para conocer las últimas historias, noticias, eventos y oportunidades -incluidas subvenciones y programas de financiación- en Main Street.

Visión general Noticias Eventos y oportunidades Suscríbase a
Mujer y niña en un puesto del festival en Kendall Whittier, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Kendall Whittier - Tulsa, Oklahoma © Kendall Whittier Main Street

Participa

Únase a nosotros en nuestro trabajo para fomentar la prosperidad compartida, crear economías fuertes y mejorar la calidad de vida en los centros y distritos comerciales de los barrios.

Visión general Únete a nosotros Renueve su afiliación Donar Asóciese con nosotros Oportunidades de empleo
Tres miembros del personal de Main Street America delante de un mural en Marion, Iowa.

Marion, Iowa © Tasha Sams

Acerca de

Trabajamos en colaboración con miles de socios locales y líderes de base de todo el país que comparten nuestro compromiso de fomentar la prosperidad compartida, crear economías resistentes y mejorar la calidad de vida.

Visión general Quiénes somos Cómo trabajamos Colaboraciones de socios Nuestros colaboradores Nuestro equipo Oportunidades de empleo Póngase en contacto con nosotros
Dos miembros de la comunidad de Emporia Kansas posan con un cartel que dice "Soy un Main Streeter"

Emporia, Kansas © Emporia Main Street

Nuestra red

Formadas por pueblos pequeños, comunidades de tamaño medio y distritos comerciales urbanos, las miles de organizaciones, personas, voluntarios y líderes locales que componen Main Street America™ representan la amplia diversidad que hace que este país sea tan singular.

Visión general Programas de coordinación Comunidades de Main Street Impacto colectivo Premios y reconocimientos Marco comunitario de evaluación Únete al movimiento
Dionne Baux y un socio de MSA trabajando en Bronzeville, Chicago.

Chicago, Illinois © Main Street America

Recursos

¿Busca estrategias y herramientas que le ayuden en su trabajo? Sumérgete en el Centro de Recursos de Main Street y explora una amplia gama de recursos, entre los que se incluyen nuestro extenso Centro de Conocimientos, oportunidades de desarrollo profesional, ofertas de servicios sobre el terreno, apoyo a la promoción y mucho más.

Visión general Centro de conocimiento Servicios de campo Relaciones gubernamentales Conferencia Main Street Now Instituto Main Street America Apoyo a las pequeñas empresas Allied Member Services El punto Área de miembros
Personas en e-scooters en Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo, Iowa © Main Street Waterloo

Lo último

Su ventanilla única para conocer las últimas historias, noticias, eventos y oportunidades -incluidas subvenciones y programas de financiación- en Main Street.

Visión general Noticias Eventos y oportunidades Suscríbase a
Mujer y niña en un puesto del festival en Kendall Whittier, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Kendall Whittier - Tulsa, Oklahoma © Kendall Whittier Main Street

Participa

Únase a nosotros en nuestro trabajo para fomentar la prosperidad compartida, crear economías fuertes y mejorar la calidad de vida en los centros y distritos comerciales de los barrios.

Visión general Únete a nosotros Renueve su afiliación Donar Asóciese con nosotros Oportunidades de empleo
People sit at a long table on the street in a historic downtown

The annual Harvest Dinner in LaCrosse, Washington, brings people together to celebrate their downtown and the organization working to preserve it. © LaCrosse Community Pride

Main Street Communities come in many sizes, from big cities to tiny rural towns, and different sized communities can have significantly different needs. With a population of 294, LaCrosse, Washington, is the smallest Main Street in Washington State and the third smallest in the Main Street Network. Their powerhouse Main Street, LaCrosse Community Pride, has used property development and community collaboration to bring back their grocery store, preserve downtown retail spaces, create new tourism opportunities, and even save the local pool. I spoke with Sarah Kane, Executive Director at LaCrosse Community Pride, to learn more about their unique approach to downtown revitalization.

Tell us a little about LaCrosse. What makes your community special?

Like many nearby communities, LaCrosse was slated to become a ghost town. In the 1970s, the highway was rerouted, and it now bypasses our town by miles. Technological advancements meant that farming and ranching jobs that required six people can now be done by one. Our population dwindled to less than 300. The final blow came when the grocery store closed its doors, leaving us without any fresh food for 35 miles. 

In 2011, a group of long-time residents banded together to preserve and transform the community by forming LaCrosse Community Pride. We purchased the old grocery store building and began making updates. It now houses a grocery store, library, a community space, and two offices. A year after the store closed, the bank and café closed. LaCrosse Community Pride purchased that building and found tenants to occupy the spaces. Over the next decade, we have also acquired an apartment complex, a warehouse building, and more. LaCrosse is resilient, and our community members were unwilling to let the town die, so we come up with creative solutions to ensure the town’s survival for future generations. 

How did your Main Street program begin? Can you share a few major accomplishments?

The original LaCrosse Community Pride board was composed of several entrepreneurial members. One member learned about the Main Street program and proposed that we become a Main Street community. There was some resistance — people were worried that it would be one more thing” for the group to take on. However, after some careful deliberation, the board realized they were already meeting a large portion of the requirements to be a Main Street community. The COVID-19 pandemic, and the deaths of two very prominent board members, postponed starting the process for an additional two years. Since becoming a Main Street community in 2023, LaCrosse Community Pride has been able to complete the interior renovation of the Rock Bunkhouses, which can now be rented on Airbnb. We also have started the interior demolition of the Rock Service Station and plan to have it renovated into a functioning coffee shop and museum by the end of 2025

Students help spread mulch in a garden bed at an apartment complex

Local students volunteer during a landscape project at LaCrosse Community Pride’s apartment complex. © LaCrosse Community Pride

What are some of the unique challenges of working with a small community? What are some of the unique benefits?

The biggest challenge we face when working in such a small community is finding the manpower to get anything done. Like many communities, 20 percent of our population does 80 percent of the work. We see the same few faces on the parks and recreation board, the school board, serving as livestock boosters and 4H leaders, and leading local business groups. For a town with such a small population, we have 11 different community groups and a small but powerful group of dedicated volunteers.

The benefit to being part of a small community is that people are connected and eager to help. Townsfolk are always looking for new ways to bring new people to our community. We also are more diligent about taking care of our neighbors than areas with a higher population density. We fix fences and check in on our neighbors more frequently. When something traumatic happens to a community member, friends and neighbors will send a month’s worth of food to their residence so they can focus on getting well. There is no shortage of passion, kindness, and friendliness here.

How do you implement the Main Street Approach in your small community? Do you have to make any adjustments to meet your specific community needs?

Our Main Street is different from those in a larger area. Since we have such a small population to recruit from, our committee groups had to be combined. LaCrosse only has a few businesses and many of them are not able to make financial contributions to our organization. Instead, they donate things like gift cards for our auctions, or they support in other ways. 

We are also uniquely invested in the real estate on Main Street. A big part of our focus is to preserve the buildings and retain tenants. Tenants that rent from us pay very minimal rent. We also try to purchase supplies for our projects from our small businesses as a way of supporting them. 

An outdoor pool with a small building and a wire fence

The LaCrosse community came together to rescue their local pool last year. © LaCrosse Community Pride

LaCrosse Community Pride has an impressive property portfolio. Why is property ownership important for your Main Street? How do you raise the capital to acquire the properties?

It is important that as many properties as possible be owned by those who are still directly vested in the community. Before we began taking on properties, many of them were owned by former LaCrosse residents who had moved out of the area. Many of the properties were falling into disrepair. LaCrosse Community Pride’s ownership prioritizes filling those buildings with businesses and helping create economic vitality.

Due to the small, connected nature of our community, LaCrosse Community Pride has not paid market value to purchase any of our properties. Our board members have made private donations to support us as we acquired the buildings. Some of the properties have also been donated to help preserve the community.

What advice do you have for other small town Main Street programs?

The best advice I can give any community, whether they are large or small, is you can fix a lot of things with twine and duct tape.” You just have to be creative. LaCrosse residents have found many creative solutions to help the town move forward. For example, last year, our community pool motor died. The pool is the only activity that LaCrosse has for kids during the summer. There were no funds to purchase the motor when it died, and even if the money was there, it would take months to have a new motor delivered and installed. Luckily, one of the local farmers donated a used motor to the parks and recreation department for the pool. A group of volunteers spent hours retrofitting the pool and motor to make everything work, but in less than a week, the pool was up and running again.