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West Hartford, Connecticut – Farmington Avenue

Main Streets 2017 – Connecticut

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It’s just five miles outside the capital city of Hartford, but the atmosphere in this Connecticut town is far from urban. Voted one of the Coolest Suburbs Worth A Visit by Travel + Leisure magazine, West Hartford stays true to its motto, “Where City Style Meets Village Charm.”

Once known for agriculture, West Hartford is now a vibrant community with appealing destinations that include numerous historical sites, plus The Children’s Museum and the Rockledge Golf Club, a carefully kept public golf course that’s been named one of New England’s “Best Places to Play.”

The popular downtown area known as West Hartford Center has been the community’s hub since the late 17th century. Plenty of trendy retail shops and appealing restaurants beckon visitors along Farmington Avenue near its crossing with Main Street. The addition of Blue Back Square in 2007 incorporated a blend of retail and residential space, bringing even more vitality to this area. Notes Travel + Leisure: “New transplants have spurred a flurry of activity and buzz along Farmington Avenue, where a young, trendy set can be found late at night ordering bottle service and grooving to house music at Shish Lounge.”

Downtown also hosts a number of annual festivals, events and special celebrations. Each June, Celebrate! West Hartford brings the community together to enjoy a wide range of family-friendly activities, with games, carnival rides, arts and crafts, and a 5k road race. Visitors can also learn about local businesses, recreation groups and nonprofit foundations. Each year, 30,000 people attend the two-day festival free of charge.

The Holiday Stroll brings cheer to downtown each December, as hundreds flock to West Hartford Center to take a horse-drawn carriage ride, visit Santa Claus and witness the tree lighting. Residents can even take in a local choir performance while getting in some holiday shopping.

If you prefer to enjoy local greenery, don’t miss visiting West Hartford Reservoir. With more than 3,000 acres of woodland and 30 miles of scenic trails for outdoor enthusiasts, it’s no wonder the locals call it West Hartford’s version of Central Park. Or meander over to Elizabeth Park Conservancy, which proudly calls itself America’s oldest public rose garden. Opened to the public in 1897, Elizabeth Park has just over 100 acres of gardens and grounds to explore — and it’s open without charge, 365 days of the year.

Primary photo taken by Pedrik
Mark Twain House photo taken by Ken Zirkel
West Hartford Reservoir photo taken by Patrick

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Washington, DC – H Street NE

Main Streets 2017 – DC

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Lively and fast-paced, H Street NE is a happening community. In recent years, this 1.5-mile corridor in northeastern D.C. has seen a strong resurgence, as the neighborhood’s shops, restaurants, nightlife and cultural offerings have grown so strongly that it’s now one of the city’s most attractive areas to live, work and play.

This was among D.C.’s hotspots for commercial, art and dining activity up through the first half of the 20th century. But the 1968 riots that followed the killing of Martin Luther King left burned-out buildings and led to years of decline. In the 1990s, as young professionals began seeking city neighborhoods with potential, H Street NE, just a short walk from the city’s central Union Station, began to come back — and today, you can experience much of the same vibrancy of its earlier years.

In fact, Forbes magazine has named the H Street corridor one of America’s Hippest Hipster Neighborhoods, noting that “the enclave is known for nightlife that includes dance clubs, rock venues, burlesque shows and restaurants…The H Street Festival also adds to the hipness.”

The festival is a 10-block-long September extravaganza, when thousands enjoy live music, performances from cultures around the world, arts and crafts and an amazing diversity of food and beverages. Many nights of the year, the community comes together at The Atlas Performing Arts Center, a signature stop for live theater, music and dance in a handsome venue that dates to 1938 and sports four performance spaces.

You can also join the locals at the H Street Farmers’ Market, where on Saturday mornings from April to December, you’ll find the area’s best cheeses, fruits, vegetables, pastries and flowers. Speaking of food, this is a mecca for foodies. Be sure to sample D.C.’s beloved half-smokes at Ben’s Chili Bowl, or pop into Copycat Co., a dumpling shop and cocktail bar that stays until the wee hours.

There’s a wealth of live music in H Street’s nightclubs. Try Rock and Roll Hotel to catch the latest indie rock, or stop in at Little Miss Whiskey’s Golden Dollar, where you never know what you’ll hear. The next morning, grab a coffee at the communal marketplace Maketto, sample the finest coffee at Sidamo, or enjoy genuine New York-style bagels at Bullfrog Bagels.

Expect to wait in line, though. Like its neighborhood, the Bullfrog is a happening spot.

Photo Credits (L-R): Ted Eylan, Intangible Arts, SPakhrin, Jamelle Bouie, Elvert Barnes
Washington DC is home to many LifeChangers – check them out: 2017-18, 2016-17

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St. Charles, Illinois – Main Street

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On a warm starry night, when streetlights illuminate the graceful low masonry bridge on which Main Street crosses the Fox River, this is one of America’s prettiest town-center scenes.

Thirty-five miles west of Chicago, St. Charles was a summer-cottage resort for Windy City business tycoons a century ago. Today, this small city of about 33,000 is a thriving year-round community with excellent schools, attractive parks and a handsome, prospering downtown — all of which helped convince Family Circle to give St. Charles number-one ranking in its annual “Best Towns for Families” survey in 2011.

The scenic Fox River is an emblem of St. Charles. If you cross it on Main Street any day from May through October, among the kayaks and canoes, you’re likely to see one of the St. Charles Paddlewheel Riverboats, which have been giving tours on the river for decades. The riverboats dock just below Main Street at Pottawatomie Park, the best-known of the city’s wealth of well-tended green spaces.

There’s much more to see and do along Main Street, in this town that celebrates its “balance between hip hot spot and historic hamlet,” according to the region’s West Suburban Living magazine. The recently restored Hotel Baker has been a local riverside landmark since 1928 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Recently the site of the wedding of celebrities Jennie McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg, the Baker boasts a vintage ballroom, a classic boathouse and live entertainment in the ROX City Grill.

Just across Main is the Steel Beam Theatre, a venue for live professional shows in a building built of river stones that was reclaimed after years of decline. Cross the river on Main and you’ll come to the 1926-vintage Arcada Theatre. Originally a vaudeville venue decades ago, the Arcada hosted touring performers from George Burns and Gracie Allen to Maria Von Trapp. Today, its distinctive marquee proclaims shows that range from top rock acts to student music concerts.

If you’d like to learn more about this award-winning city, the St. Charles History Museum on Main Street houses more than 10,000 historic photos and 15,000 artifacts. From 1928 to 1990, the museum’s building was a gas station — well-befitting a community that once was a resort for millionaires and now is a destination for families, visitors … and maybe even you.

All photos courtesy of Downtown St. Charles Partnership.

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Hilo, Hawaii – Kilauea Avenue

Main Streets 2017 – Hawaii

Primary Wikipedia
Farmers Market Frank Hamm
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Primary Wikipedia Farmers Market Frank Hamm 5249969992 dcdd123271 b

On May 23, 1960, a tsunami swept over the picturesque beach on Hilo Bay and surged through this city, causing 61 deaths and destroying some 530 buildings. Residents responded by converting devastated waterfront areas into parks and memorials, and Hilo began expanding inland instead. With Kilauea Avenue as its main thoroughfare, “the downtown found a new role in the 1980s as the city’s cultural center, with several galleries and museums being opened,” notes Hilo’s active Downtown Improvement Association.

Vivid reminders of the disaster’s past are preserved in the bayside Pacific Tsunami Museum, where visitors can find out what’s been learned to reduce the danger from future events. Leaving the museum, you can see the active volcano Mauna Loa and the dormant Mauna Kea looming in the distance, both often shrouded in rain clouds.

The largest city on the 50th state’s “big island,” Hilo celebrates Hawaiian tradition, which stretches back almost a thousand years. Tahitian dancing is featured downtown on Aloha First Friday, when families enjoy live music, bounce houses for the kids, and food trucks with Hilo’s mélange of ethnic cuisines. It’s perfectly acceptable to order a big plate of luau-style roast pork, Korean kimchi, sushi and macaroni salad. Kilauea Avenue restaurants and nearby art galleries are open late.

Kilauea Avenue also figures prominently in the big parade of April’s Merrie Monarch Festival. The celebration’s highlight is a hula and chanting competition featuring hundreds of performers in a local sports stadium. You’ll see a lot of kids taking part in activities that include performing the art of the hula, which tells stories through hand and other body movements.

Hilo gets more than 100 inches of rain each year — and to enjoy fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers from the verdant local hills, townspeople head a few blocks from Kilauea Avenue to the Hilo Farmer’s Market, which has grown from a handful of farmers selling from pickup trucks to more than 200 vendors today. This has to be one of the very few farmers markets that publishes the cruise ship schedule on its website, reminding farmers and artisans to bring extra inventory for when the ships disgorge their passengers.

If you’re lucky enough to visit Hilo with a few hours to spare, try the city’s Walking Tour, whose 21 stops on and around Kilauea Avenue give windows into the city’s history since 1870. If you find yourself dreaming of moving here to live — well, you sure won’t be the first. Or the last.

Primary photo taken by Hermann Luyken
Farmer’s Market photos taken by Frank Hamm
Hilo, HI is home to a 2016-17 LifeChanger, Dane Inouye.

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Main Street Dubuque IA

Dubuque, Iowa – Main Street

Main Streets 2017: Iowa

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Farmers Market Dubuque IA
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Dubuque is Iowa’s oldest city, and a century ago, it was a major manufacturing center renowned for its beautiful river vistas and stunning Victorian architecture. But over the years, its heavy industry faded, and by the 1970s, the downtown needed serious work.

The city responded. Local leaders embraced the national Main Street movement, dedicated to revitalizing historic downtowns and neighborhoods. Dubuque’s historic Main Street and its downtown environs were well worth reviving — and it wasn’t long before money was raised and decayed remains of the industrial age had been replaced by new river walks, parks, art galleries and plentiful things to do.

The Saturday farmer’s market, dating to 1858, is the oldest in this state known for its agriculture. It closed for a time in the 1970s, but came back with arts and crafts added to the splendid array. Today’s market features over 130 vendors, kids’ activities, live music and special events.

The not-for-profit Dubuque Main Street hosts Fall into Art, a self-guided tour of the downtown Dubuque Cultural Corridor, which includes Cable Car Square, the Historic Millwork District, Historic Old Main, and Upper Main/Farmers’ Market. Working artists show their paintings, pottery, photography and much more.

While you’re admiring the art downtown, you can also admire the architecture — including the Carnegie-Stout Library, built in 1901 in Neo-Classical Revivalist style, a block from Main on West 11th Street.

Also a block off Main, at 8th and Iowa, is the Grand Opera House, built in 1890 and still the oldest stage in town. Superstars like Henry Fonda and Sarah Bernhardt performed at the Opera House during its first four decades. The venue has been in near continuous operation, but suffered from deferred maintenance before being renovated in the late 2oth century, inside and out, and reopened as a local gem reborn.

Historic Old Main, a gateway district to downtown that has also seen a good deal of reinvestment, offers retail shopping, locally owned bars and restaurants, as well as live music. Its centerpiece is the Five Flags Center, a 1911 venue formerly known as the Majestic Theatre that was saved from demolition, renovated and reopened in 1979. City-owned and home to the Dubuque Symphony, the center hosts a wide variety of theater, music, sports and festival events. It’s named for the five national flags — of France, Spain, Great Britain, Napoleon’s French Republic, and the U.S.A. — that have flown over Dubuque during its long, rich and still-unfolding history.

All photos courtesy of Visit Dubuque

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