Main Street in Marinette, June 5, 2019. PC: Fox 11 Online
(WTAQ-WLUK) — A community’s downtown is often a link to its past and the businesses and industries that put it on the map.
Some downtowns have faded over time, however, leaving locals pining for a rebirth.
One of the downtowns that was noted in a recent survey as being among the most deserving of a revival is Marinette.
Financial media company MarketBeat said it surveyed 3,012 people about the places they’d most like to see come back.
Main Street in Marinette came in second in Wisconsin.
The website wrote:
Set along the Menominee River near the Michigan border, downtown Marinette still carries the atmosphere of a Great Lakes community shaped by shipping, lumber, and local industry. Main Street remains lined with traditional storefronts and older commercial buildings that reflect the city’s long connection to waterfront commerce. The nearby Menominee River continues to give the district much of its identity and setting. Today, many residents still feel the downtown deserves a fuller revival that would bring more everyday activity back into the historic core.
Number one in Wisconsin was Sixth Street in Racine.
Historic architecture, lakefront proximity, and broad downtown corridors still give Racine one of the most distinctive urban atmospheres along the western shore of Lake Michigan. Sixth Street developed during the manufacturing years that helped make Racine an important industrial city throughout the 20th century. Even now, the district still feels grounded in local identity and full of the kind of character that makes people hopeful for a broader return of independent shops, restaurants, and neighborhood energy.
In third place in Wisconsin was Tower Avenue in Superior.
Long commercial blocks, historic brick facades, and the unmistakable feel of an old port city still define much of downtown Superior. Tower Avenue grew alongside shipping and rail industries connected to the western end of Lake Superior, helping shape the district’s scale and identity over generations. While quieter than during its busiest decades, as the city launches major roadway and utility overhauls to modernize the strip, the downtown still carries a strong sense of place and the kind of overlooked potential residents would love to see rediscovered.
Created by MarketBeat • View larger version
What would a comeback mean? Survey respondents said they’d like to see places to eat, gather and spend time without needing a car or shopping mall.
Elements survey respondents said they were looking for:
- Diners, cafes, and restaurants: 24%
- Live music/entertainment venues: 19%
- Farmers’ markets/street fairs: 19%
- Family-friendly public spaces: 17%
- Independent shops: 9%
- Bookstores, galleries, or cultural spaces: 7%
- Boutique hotels / restored historic inns: 6%
Why did downtowns fade in the first place? Here’s what people said:
- Rising rents and business costs: 20%
- Big-box stores and shopping centers: 17%
- Lack of investment: 15%
- Online shopping: 12%
- Highway bypasses/traffic moving elsewhere: 9%
- Not enough parking: 9%
- Poor planning or zoning: 7%
- Safety concerns: 7%
- Population decline: 6%
“Historic Main Streets are more than sentimental landmarks; they are a reflection of how people feel about the future of their communities,” Matt Paulson, founder of MarketBeat, said in a news release.
“When residents believe in a downtown’s future, it reflects optimism about small businesses, tourism, property investment and civic life. This survey shows Americans do not want these places frozen in time. They want practical revival that brings activity back while preserving the local character that made these districts matter in the first place.”
While respondents said downtowns are worth saving, there were some things they didn’t want to see downtowns turn into:
- Too expensive / gentrified: 32%
- A nightlife-only district: 18%
- Filled with national chains: 15%
- Overdeveloped with modern buildings: 15%
- A fake “theme park” version of itself: 12%
- Too touristy: 8%
Comments