PORT TOWNSEND — About 130 people from Main Street Program associations across the state registered Wednesday for a three-day gathering in a downtown praised as healthy and thriving.
“We have been able to use Port Townsend as an example of how to maintain a vital downtown,” said Washington State Main Street Director Susan Kempf as the 24th annual Downtown Revitalization Training Institute got under way.
“They have managed to keep it alive and vibrant, although every downtown area is a work in progress.”
Port Townsend is known for its Victorian buildings, interest in historic preservation — and lack of big box store chains.
“We have a strong preservation ethic here,” said Port Townsend Main Street Program Executive Director Mari Mullen.
“The fact that we’ve been able to maintain all of these buildings helps to keep the historic fabric of the town intact.”
Greg Spranger of Issaquah said the conference was his 11th.
“Every year, I come away with something I can use to help preserve our downtown,” he said.
The event will feature a series of breakout sessions, walking tours, lectures and workshops, culminating in an awards program and banquet Friday which will recognize outstanding accomplishments in downtown revitalization throughout the state.
The conference — sponsored by the state Department of Commerce, the Port Townsend Main Street Program and the city of Port Townsend — is geared toward teaching the Main Street approach to promoting downtowns and developing those that have suffered from migrations to the suburbs and poor economic conditions.
Hard times
In Wednesday’s keynote address, Kennedy Smith of the Community Land Use and Economics Group in Arlington, Va., traced how once thriving downtown areas have fallen into hard times.
“Downtown areas were once healthy, vibrant places,” she said. “They were built around the intersection of the two busiest roads, or a river and a railroad track.
“Cities developed into areas zoned for particular use that were connected by a highway, which led to the growth of apparel-based shopping malls.
“People started buying apparel from malls, which took all the sales out of downtown, and stores closed.”
Smith, who is from Maryland, said that her hometown followed such a path except that “the mall that took all the business from downtown has now closed, and the plan to redevelop the land has fallen victim to the poor economy.”
Smith continued her history lesson with a look at the rise of big box chain stores.
In the 1960s, there was four feet of retail space for each American. That number has increased 10 times.
Smith said this is not only more than what people need, but twice as much as the economy can support.
‘Looks the same’
“You used to be able to tell so much about a city just by looking at its buildings,” Smith said. “Now everything looks the same.”
During her presentation, Smith showed slides of several suburban streetscapes with identical buildings.
When she asked the audience to identify the location, none could.
She then showed pictures of fast food restaurants with their logos stripped out. Everyone could identify the brand.
Then, she mixed up shots of strip malls with downtown pictures and asked for the audience to react with “cool” or “not cool.”
Audience members found this to be an easy quiz.
“‘Cool’ is like pornography,” Smith said. “You know it when you see it.”
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Jefferson County reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
