Community Spotlight: GM on Main Street Grant Recipient Holly, Michigan
Holly, Mich. received funding from the GM on Main Streett grant for their Beautify Holly Battle Alley Social District and Ganshaw Park projects.
Join us for three days of learning, connecting, and celebrating at Main Street Now 2025 in Philadelphia, from April 7 – 9.
Secure Your Spot!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.
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.
¿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.
Su ventanilla única para conocer las últimas historias, noticias, eventos y oportunidades -incluidas subvenciones y programas de financiación- en Main Street.
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.
Main Street America — alongside our co-host partners Pennsylvania Downtown Center and Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development—is incredibly excited to co-host the 2025 Main Street Now Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from April 7 – 9. In this first article of a three-part series exploring the intersection between this year’s conference theme — A Healthy Main Street Movement — and community-based initiatives in Philadelphia, we are pleased to collaborate with the Pennsylvania Downtown Center. Keep reading to learn more about the role that connection plays in fostering health in Philadelphia and how you can experience these efforts in person at Main Street Now 2025.
Conference registration is open, with early bird rates available through February 4. Check out the conference website and follow the conference’s Facebook and Twitter accounts for the latest updates.
What is a healthy community? The first thing that may come to mind is a place where there is a hospital or some sort of healthcare provider. Next, we might consider places where residents and visitors can walk or hike along a path or trail, or where there are opportunities for additional recreation right outside your doorstep. We might even think of wellness businesses or community activities like yoga studios, juice bars, dance classes, and Tai chi in the park. Safe public spaces where we can strengthen our minds, raise our spirits, or meet up with old friends and make new ones. Activities for children — bike rodeos and traffic gardens, walking paths to school and the park, and public art, lots of public art! A place where folks choose to raise a family, start a business, or retire — a place to call home.
A healthy community is a welcoming place, where everyone feels seen, respected, and included. It offers lots of ways to get where we need (and want) to go. It offers a variety of options to live and work, pray and play. A healthy community provides places to connect with our neighbors and contribute to society, to volunteer, and to serve.
Philadelphia is one of those places. Famous for its cheesesteaks and overly enthusiastic sports fans, the city is also known for its public murals, parks, and gardens. We invite you to explore Philly with us as we share how our nonprofit partners, city government, region, and people work to build and maintain a connected community in Philadelphia.
Transit Forward Philadelphia is a coalition of Philadelphia-based organizations fighting to improve public transit in Southeast Pennsylvania, advocating for transit improvements that benefit all Philadelphians and better connect the Greater Philadelphia region. They accomplish their mission by “amplifying voices of riders and residents in support of a transit network that is the preferred mode of transportation in Greater Philadelphia.” Their work has helped create a more equity-focused approach for the region’s many transit options.
As a visitor to Philly, you might not know what you want to visit, but you’ll have lots of options to get you wherever you decide you’re going. Indego, Philly’s Bike Share system, is one of the easiest ways to get around. Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia has several curated Neighborhood Ride Guides available to download ahead of time or view on-the-go using Google Maps, and there will be extra bikes stationed near and around the conference hotel, ready and waiting for you to explore.
The Coalition’s mission is to “make every bicycle ride safe, to empower youth and adults to ride, and to foster a ridership that reflects the diversity of the region,” and they can provide some additional guidance to help you navigate the city. Philadelphia has your run of the mill conventional bike lanes, but you can also find protected bike lanes, shared lanes/sharrows, buffered/painted lines, circuit trails, shared use paths (non-circuit), and side paths.
Philly is also connected by its public transit, SEPTA, one of the largest systems in the country including regional rail, buses, trolleys, subways and a high-speed line. We’ll be using some of the lines throughout the conference providing transit options as part of certain mobile tour experiences. We hope that you’ll explore on your own, as SEPTA provides lots of options connecting the city with a five-county region, including New Jersey and Delaware.
Another leading organization in the area is Mural Arts Philadelphia. Once you arrive in Philly, I guarantee it won’t be long before you start noticing some of the gorgeous, awe-inspiring, and conversation-igniting murals throughout our city. For the last 40 years, Mural Arts has existed “to provide transformative experiences, progressive discourse, and economic stimulus to the City of Philadelphia through participatory public art that beautifies, advocacy that inspires, and educational programming and employment opportunities that empower.”
Mural Arts is more than a public arts organization. They unite and engage the community in up to 100 projects each year, all while maintaining and restoring their constantly growing collection. Their core program areas—Art Education, Community Murals, Porch Light, and Restorative Justice—demonstrate their wide scope “yielding unique, project-based learning opportunities for thousands of youth and adults.” It’s in the stories each mural tells, sometimes as a whisper and other times with an exclamation!
One project we encourage you to explore is “We Here: Clay Heals Minds” in Kensington, an immersive project that aims to preserve the culture and identity of the neighborhood, connecting the arts, behavioral health, and community well-being. Inspired by Roberto Lugo’s journey as an artist who grew up in Kensington, “We Here” encourages engagement and joy through pottery, with an emphasis on youth engagement, and fosters a sense of unity and enrichment through artistic collaboration.
Another awe-inspiring and brand-new mural is “Continuum”. Local artist LaToya Peoples returned to the Northeast Philadelphia’s historical roots, weaving in an Indigenous Lenape beadwork pattern and local creeks: Pennypack, Tacony, and Wissinoming, which are home to the various native flowers shown throughout the mural. The mural also depicts the construction boom of the 1950s — row homes that we recognize in the neighborhood today, housing the families and businesses that weave together with the community’s past and future. The various faces depict the diversity of the region, looking together toward a shared goal of a thriving community.
Lastly, an older mural that has recently been restored is the iconic “Freedom Now!” mural at 40th and Lancaster Avenues, commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic 1965 speech in West Philadelphia. This event drew a crowd of approximately 10,000 Philadelphians, where Dr. King passionately spoke about the need for “freedom now” in the city. The mural, originally painted by artist Cliff Eubanks, was restored with the assistance of Kien Nguyen and Efrain Herrera.
We are thrilled to offer two conference mobile workshops through Mural Arts, but we also encourage you to explore the murals on your own and through their self-guided tour. You can become one of the annual 15,000 residents and visitors who tour this outdoor art gallery, earning Philadelphia recognition as the “Mural Capital of the World.”
“Connection is a powerful tool that can help us name and achieve shared goals for our Main Streets.”
Connection is a key theme for the 2025 Main Street Now Conference, and we hope that the art, culture, and infrastructure of Philadelphia will inspire you to think about connection in new and deeper ways. As you join us in Philly, we invite you to connect with the city, the region, each other, and the Main Street Movement. Utilize Indego, SEPTA, and other transportation options to explore the many neighborhoods that make up the city. Explore the murals and other public art installations that color our buildings and gathering spaces. Philadelphia is a city of connection, and we can’t wait to connect with you here.
If you’re interested in learning more about how Main Street programs, arts organizations, and transportation infrastructure partners can support health in your community, make sure to register for the 2025 Main Street Now Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from April 7 – 9. With 100+ learning and network-building events in three days, you’re sure to return to your community inspired to think about connection in new and deeper ways. Registration is now open! Preview the agenda, start planning your visit, and register here >