2017 Main Streets Across America

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Berlin, Maryland – Main Street

Main Streets 2017: Maryland

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Church Mouse Thrift Shop Philip Young
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Berlin’s Main Street began as part of a path connecting neighboring Indian tribes and later became the Philadelphia Post Road, a primary transportation route up the Atlantic coast. Stroll down Main today and you’ll see why this community was named “America’s Coolest Small Town” by Budget Traveler in 2014.

Starting at the Atlantic Hotel, you can take a walking tour of historic homes along and around Main Street. Berlin has some 47 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, including Burley Manor and Burley Cottage on South Main and the Chandler House on North Main. After a series of devastating fires in a ten-year period from 1895-1904, the town passed an ordinance requiring that every new structure be built of brick. As you’ll see, even many local streets are brick-laid.

With early 20th century improvements in water and fire protection, Berlin became home to several successful industries, including the Berlin Milling Company, Phillips Cannery and Harrison Nurseries, which called itself the world’s largest fruit producer in 1924. The Berlin Peach Festival celebrates this history every summer at the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum on North Main, with pie-baking and pie-eating contests, music, games and craft demonstrations.

The museum’s namesake was a banker whose bank building, built in 1902, still stands at the corner of Main and Commerce. Historical information suggests that Taylor taught Charles Albert Tindley how to read and write. Tindley, born in Berlin in 1851, became a well-known Methodist minister and a founding father of African American gospel music.

Downtown also hosts the Berlin Fiddler’s Convention, concerts on the lawn, a Fourth of July celebration and Classical Christmas. Activities for all ages also include Spring Celebration in March, the Jazz and Blues Bash in May, June’s Annual Bathtub Races, the Second Friday Art Stroll, and the Haunted Berlin Ghost Walk. From Main Street you can also connect to bike trails that can take you away from downtown, past historic sites, parks and monuments in the city and onward to the wildlife areas and beaches along the coast.

With so much to see and do, it’s no wonder Berlin continues to win awards and be named to many “best of” lists. It might just be time to put it on your list of “must places to visit.”

All photos taken by Philip Young
Berlin, MD is home to a 2017-18 LifeChanger: Laurie Chetelat

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Muskegon, Michigan – Western Avenue

Main Streets 2017: Michigan

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Beauty queens, drama queens … lumber queens? Believe it or not, downtown Muskegon was once known as the “Lumber Queen of the World.” In the late 1800s, it was home to nearly 50 sawmills, and produced lumber for much of the United States. But the 20th century brought trials and tribulations to this city, including a devastating 1946 fire that destroyed many businesses. Thanks to support from organizations such as Downtown Muskegon, the community has undergone a revitalization that could help it claim a new title: Renaissance City of Michigan.

Today, an estimated 38,000 people call this historic waterfront city their home. At the heart of it all is Western Avenue, the northern border of Muskegon’s Heritage District.

Start your trip on the eastern end of Western Avenue at the Muskegon Farmers Market, which moved to the downtown area a few years ago. Far from being your average farmers market, this is also home to cooking classes, lessons on the “Power of Produce,” and even a Halloween bash. It’s also the perfect place to pick up some fresh groceries before heading a few blocks down to Hackley Park for a picnic. The park was named after Muskegon’s largest philanthropist, Charles Hackley, and it hosts a variety of events during the year, from an art fair to the Taste of Muskegon.

Continue your trip down Western Avenue with a visit to one of the nearly two dozen restaurants and breweries that Muskegon has to offer, such as the Unruly Brewing Company. Muskegon knows its breweries — at one point, this was one of only two places in the United States where Ireland’s beloved Guinness stout was bottled. Hang around Western Avenue to grab a slice of delicious pizza from Rebel Pies, another local staple.

After an afternoon’s exploring, head to the center of Western Avenue to catch a show at the Frauenthal Center for Performing Arts, formerly known as the Michigan Theater. This theater’s extraordinary, Spanish-style architecture will leave you in awe. You’d never know that in 1929, it cost only $690,000 to build.

Cap off the day by heading down to the Muskegon Heritage Museum at the western end of the Heritage District. where visitors can explore nearly 10,000 square feet of exhibits showing Muskegon’s history, including a working steam engine from 1893. It’s one of the many ways this city is preserving its industrial roots as it looks towards the future.

All photos courtesy of Visit Muskegon – The Muskegon County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Muskegon, MI is home to 2016-17 LifeChanger Dan Beckman, as well as 2014-15 LifeChanger of the Year winner Julie Raynor.

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Northampton, Massachusetts – Main Street

Main Streets 2017: Massachusetts

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It’s not hard to see why Northampton has won more than 25 awards, including best small city in America, top 10 town for craft lovers, walking and bicycle-friendly community, green community, and best downtown shopping district. Jenny Lind, a renowned 19th century singer, called this city the “Paradise of America” — and the nickname “The Paradise City” has stuck with this small city, tucked in a river valley 100 miles west of Boston.

Stroll along Main Street and it’s easy to see why. Northampton has a rich history, an artsy college-town vibe, cool shops and boutiques, an incredibly array of excellent restaurants, and a roster of annual events and activities that help build its strong sense of community.

Northampton’s past is, in many ways, still present. The Main Street spot where 18th century Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards had his meetinghouse is now home to a church that accepts all comers. Former slave turned abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth came to town in 1843 to join the Northampton Association for Education and Industry, a utopian, abolitionist community where anti-slavery statesman Frederick Douglass was a supporter and frequent guest speaker.

In 1910, a local lawyer named Calvin Coolidge became Northampton’s mayor, 13 years before he became the 30th U.S. president. The Calvin Theatre, opened in 1924 while Coolidge was in the White House, still operates at the corner of Main and Pleasant. Head up Main and onto West Street and you’ll reach the Forbes Library, home of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum.

At the head of Main Street is the Academy of Music, the nation’s oldest city-owned theatre. A right turn onto Elm Street leads to Smith College, founded in 1871, whose alumnae include U.S. first ladies, Pulitzer Prize-winning writers, and many other notable and accomplished women. Smith’s campus features landscaped gardens, Paradise Pond, a conservatory and the Museum of Art. Not far from Smith are the Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech, where Alexander Graham Bell once taught.

Throughout the year, Main Street plays welcoming host to an array of downtown events that include First Night Northampton, LGBTQ Parade and Pride Day in May, and a number of public arts and music events. Past a railroad overpass, Main becomes Bridge Street and leads to Three County Fairgrounds, site of the country’s oldest continuously running agricultural fair.

You’ll want to explore Northampton for yourself — and A Visitors’ Guide to Paradise offers not one, but six self-guided walking tours of this multi-faceted community.

Downtown Lights photo taken by Sam Masinter, all other photos taken by Lynn Graves
Photos courtesy of Downtown Northampton Association

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Excelsior, Minnesota – Water Street

Main Streets 2017: Minnesota

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It’s only 20 minutes by car from busy downtown Minneapolis to Excelsior, where people enjoy life in the slower lane. This miniscule Minnesota city has a population of less than 2,400, with Lake Minnetonka as its picturesque backdrop.

The aptly named Water Street runs through downtown past Lake Street, where you can catch a ride on the The Minnehaha, a restored steamboat that ferries passengers across the lake from Excelsior to Mayzata (and back) in the summer months.

And though there’s plenty of fun to be had on the lake, Excelsior’s downtown, just one square mile, also entices with its mix of historic ambience and contemporary shopping and dining options.

The Minnesota Streetcar Museum, with its fleet of six historic restored streetcars, opens an interesting portal into the city’s past. The Lake Minnetonka LRT Regional Trail, an attraction for bicyclists and walkers, traverses the downtown area, crossing Water Street as its runs between the Excelsior Library and the museum of the Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka Historical Society.

Water Street is a great launching pad for enjoying the annual events presented by the Excelsior Chamber of Commerce and other local groups. July brings Crazy Days, a fun festival with street car rides, a carnival for kids, a sidewalk tent sale and live music by fiddlers and pickers known as the String Beans. Enjoy funnel cake and other delicacies while strolling the downtown and joining in the “crazy” goings on.

Take a left off Water Street onto Lake Street and you find The Commons park and recreation area, with a swimming beach, playground, tennis courts, places to play baseball, and spots to enjoy a family picnic while taking in a concert. The annual 10,000 Lakes Concours d’Elegance, also in July, is a car, boat and motorcycle show on the banks of Lake Minnetonka. There’s a prize for best period dress, and visitors can enjoy food vendors, live music, a kids’ zone and other entertainment.

It does get cold in January, but the Arctic Fever celebration is the perfect antidote for cabin fever. Its fun things to do include a bicycle race, ice sculpting and a wine and paint party, where participants can sip while creating snowy hill scenes. For kids, there are wagon rides, a magic show and ice fishing off of Water Street.

Minnesota may be “The Land of 10,000 Lakes” — but for community spirit and year-round family fun, there is only one Lake Minnetonka. And one Excelsior.

Excelsior Farmer’s Market and Parade photos courtesy of Al Whitaker
All other photos courtesy of Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka Chamber of Commerce

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The Square in Downtown Oxford at night

Oxford, Mississippi – Oxford Square

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For 180 years, “The Square” has been the heart of Oxford, pumping life into this northern Mississippi town that calls itself the cultural mecca and art center of the South.

Founded in 1837, Oxford became home to the state’s first university, and rose from its own ashes after it was burned down in the Civil War. Today, it’s best-known as the home of the University of Mississippi and the former home of Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner, and The Square is Oxford’s downtown hub.

A fixture here since 1839 is Neilson’s, the South’s oldest department store. Originally a small log cabin, Neilson’s has moved, grown and changed with the times and the town. With three separate buildings, Square Books has hosted readings and book signings by such renowned local authors as John Grisham and Willie Morris — and it stocks every title in print by Faulkner, who lived at Rowan Oak, just south of the Square, for more than 30 years. The store is also the broadcast location for The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour, a weekly radio show featuring live music and author readings.

West of the Square in the old Burns Methodist Episcopal Church, the Burns-Belfry Museum and Multicultural Center was founded after the Civil War by freed slaves who settled in the area known as “Freedmen Town.” Grisham donated the building in 2002 to the Oxford-Lafayette County Heritage Foundation, asking that this landmark be dedicated to preserving the area’s rich and diverse cultural history.

Head south to University Avenue and you’ll find world-class academics, art and athletics on the beautiful main campus of “Ole Miss.” The University of Mississippi Museum and Historic Houses complex and the Ford Center for the Performing Arts are a short distance from The Grove, a grassy parcel surrounded by shade trees that, as a famous spot for football tailgating, can draw upwards of 100,000 fans on a home-game Saturday.

Back in the Square, special events and activities throughout the year bring the community together. Highlights include the Double Decker Arts Fest, a two-day celebration of food, music and the arts, the Oxford Square Alliance Holiday Open House, and the Oxford Blues Festival.

USA Today has called Oxford one of America’s best college towns, and its public schools have been ranked among the nation’s best. With The Square as its center, this is a place to come savor — or to put down roots, and stay.

All photos courtesy of Visit Oxford
Oxford, MS is home to a 2016-17 LifeChanger: Shannon Robbins

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