Placing surface parking lots in your downtown is like placing a toilet in your living room

-- unknown author

Courthouse could have become a parking lot

I'd read about about it.  Wondered about it.  Saw how many enjoyed it.  But not until I put my own feet on Hendersonville's Main Street, did I experience it for my own.

And you know something?  It was wonderful

I was in Vibrant Village heaven.  Hendersonville's Main Street was all I'd hoped for, all I'd dreamt about. For you see, as Enrique Peñalosa (an expert on designing world-class cities and former Mayor of Bogotá), has said, “God made us walking animals—pedestrians. As a fish needs to swim, a bird to fly, a deer to run, we need to walk, not in order to survive, but to be happy. ”

Hendersonville 1890

Maybe that's why Hendersonville's Main Street felt so pleasing.  I could walk; I didn't feel threatened by speeding traffic. Here on Main Street, I got to experience the principles of traffic calming. It worked, and it worked well.  Gentle serpentine curves, bump-outs, planters and wide sidewalks slowed car traffic. As a  pedestrian, I found traffic calming had created a peaceful co-existence with cars as they made their way down the street.  A torrent of traffic was now a trickle. Four lanes of traffic had been reduced to two. Drivers needing to get places in a hurry tended to choose other streets.

Hendersonville's calm traffic made me feel welcomed

Everything had been done to create a place that made a happy habitat for humans.  And a friendly place, for this Main Street proved an  easy place to strike up a conversation with walkers and shopkeepers.  I'd never found such easy human contact in malls.

Hendersonville in 1916

All ages were found here—dog walkers, young families pushing baby strollers, elders walking hand in hand, young people gathered in groups.  I'd rarely seen such a friendly scene outside of plazas in Mexico and Italy.  It was mighty refreshing.

Hendersonville in 1934

This street evoked so many fond memories. It reminded me of my childhood town's Main Street--one that's since vanished, done in by shopping malls and big box stores.  But not here.  Not in Hendersonville.

Who, I wondered, had been responsible for creating such a wonderful and welcoming downtown?

Main Street Gets Malled

I discovered the picture wasn't quite so rosy back in 1983.  That's the year the Blue Ridge Mall opened.  Main Street's retail business began a real slump. Empty stores appeared. The downtown easily could have faded, its business lost to big box stores and acres of parking.  But no, the townspeople and retailers cared too much.

One solution was the formation of Downtown Hendersonville Inc. (DHI) in 1985.   Among their many achievements were lighting the roof lines, a Christmas wreath program, installation of Colonial light fixtures—and all those blooming flowers and comfy benches for gathering.

One building caught my attention right away--the striking and cheery yellow antique courthouse.  What a sweet classic. Its generous plaza and pretty curved dome invited the eye. The nobility of its design spoke of stability and charm.

But this was a building that almost wasn't.  There had been discussions to tear down the 1904 building and put up a parking lot.

Along came Jones, Dr. George A. Jones

A gentleman named Dr. George A. Jones didn't think tearing down the courthouse was a good idea. Not at all. He said “No sir, we're going to restore it.  We'd found the original architectural drawings, and I was determined our courthouse would be restored back to its original condition—with some necessary improvements—like bathrooms.”

That sounded like a big job. How was this feat accomplished? The question earned a chuckle from Doctor Jones. He replied, “By twisting the county commissioners' arms 'out of shape,' issuing bonds and raising $11 million dollars.”

Thanks to Dr Jones and others who valued the building, the courthouse now stands, gleaming in the sun.  Even better than before with modern bathrooms and elevators.  Within, many town needs are met, including a popular 'community room' that seats 150.  A higher purpose, a better concept than an expanse of oil-stained asphalt for parking  cars.

Came home just in time

A Hendersonville native, Dr. Jones had spent years away from his hometown but returned home 27 years ago at a time when the town needed his wisdom the most. He has high regard for Main Streets and says, “The Main Street of any town represents the heartbeat of that town.  They represent the past, present—and future.  They're visible evidence of former lives and tell you a lot about your ancestors. Strip malls do not have a life of their own.”

Now in his 90th year, Dr. Jones continues to give back to the community he loves.  He now heads the Genealogical Association and recently co-authored a book: A Guide to Historic Henderson County.

Many other people and several organizations played pivotal roles in saving Main Street.  I wish there were space to salute each of them for their vision and dedication. Committees championed  festivals and museums with great success. The hugely popular Apple Festival, for example.  It's grown into the 7th biggest festival in the U.S.

The Mineral and Lapidary Museum is thriving and adding to their collections and exhibits.  This Main Street museum attracts 100,000 annual visitors.  Kids love the minerals that glow in the dark, the  gigantic T-Rex head, and the dinosaur nest with six dinosaur eggs. The museum's housed in a re-purposed old bank building.

A retail mix for everyone

What a lively street is this Main Street of Hendersonville. It offers, among its vibrant retail mix, an old-time soda fountain, a coffee café where people gather and performances are held, a well-stocked music store, several  toy shops, including one that displays antique toys in its windows, and a general store where 'if you don't find it here, you don't need it.'  Clothing stores, antiques, contemporary furniture, art galleries, pubs...so many wonderful possibilities.  A dedicated skateboard shop appeals to young shoppers.

Seems the town offers something for everyone. More than a dozen tempting eateries serve up eclectic dining options. I tried to sample most of them.  I missed a few, will have to return to correct that.

Talking the walk

My personal love affair with Hendersonville began to bud when I discovered a downtown that placed pedestrians above cars. As Lewis Mumford, the American historian and philosopher said, “Forget the damned motor car and build the cities for lovers and friends.”

Hendersonville has done just that. And done it exceedingly well.

Economically vital, attracting newcomers, and growing in smart growth ways, the town truly attracts lovers and friends—and new business. Makes sense.  People spend money.

Cars?

They always demand more expensive infrastructure, give little back, and catering to them solves little.

Glen Hemistra, a futurist and advocate of walkable communities nailed it when he said,  “Adding lanes to solve traffic congestion is like loosening your belt to solve obesity.”

Vibrant Village salutes the town of Hendersonville for putting cars on a reducing diet and putting people's health first. A feat wisely executed: putting feet on Main Street.

Dr. George A. Jones'  Tips on Creating a Vibrant Main Street:

1. Assess your needs:  what does your Main Street need?  To fill up empty storefronts, facade and signage improvements?  Traffic calming?
2. Go visit other towns with successful Main Streets.  What worked for them that can work for you?
3. Put flower boxes on every corner.  You'll need a good Flower committee to do this.  We collect a special downtown tax to finance our flower program.
4. Get your Chamber of Commerce behind you to pursue business attraction to Main Street.
5. Establish guidelines for buildings.  No building on our Main Street can be taller than 100 feet, which is the height of the courthouse dome.
6. from the author:  Form an active, grassroots revitalization group, utilize technical assistance from your state's Main Street program and from the National level.

Organizations that provide technical assistance and guidelines for Main Streets:

In North Carolina:  North Carolina Main Street Center

National level: National Trust for Historic Preservation

Photography credit: the photographs of the Hendersonville Main Street murals are courtesy of the Henderson County Genealogical and Historical Society.  The original murals are located in the History Center, 400 North Main Street, Hendersonville, North Carolina.

About the author...

Patricia Frank loves small towns. She's also the editor and publisher of Vibrant Village.  Whenever she can, she likes to visit and profile special towns that have achieved something wonderful.

Local hardware store with strong appeal

Is your town serving local needs?  Or must you go to another town to buy a pair of shoes?

These days, many small towns are feeling a sharp economic pinch. First there are job losses.  These stem from having traditional employers, such as mills and factories close, down-size or moved off-shore.  Couple that with aging infrastructure--especially water and sewer systems--and it's just not an easy time for many of our communities.

In desperation, towns often court multi-national companies. To win their business, towns pay these companies bounties in the form of tax incentives. It's also common practice to grant tax benefits to remaining large employers in the hope of keeping them in town.

But often the incentives work for only a short time. In the end, companies close or move anyway, leaving the town in worse economic shape than before.

So what's a town to do?

Local economy building may be the answer. Goods and services that meet local needs—located within a walkable retail hub—are in demand.  Walkable communities are high on agendas these days. Citizens will buy from local store owners when the offerings meet their needs.

Building local economies by utilizing traditional skills of the townspeople to start new business ventures is a smart move, too. These are businesses that can grow, flourish and contribute to the tax base. Locally-based and owned businesses rarely move. They're deeply rooted in the solid growing medium of local ownership, skills and heritage.

The suggestions that follow are for consideration. They may or may not work in your particular small town—or they may work great. Towns that thrive these days seem to be those willing to think outside the box.

1.  Take an inventory of local skills. In my town of Beaufort, North Carolina, we have a tradition of boat-building, decoy-carving and fishing. We already have a well-recognized decoy festival. But what about our heritage of working with wood? There are still boat builders in Down East  North Carolina who construct a craft by laying the boat out in their back yard, and building 'by rack of eye.'

How might these skills be applied to job creation in 2010? Handcrafted custom furniture? Dinghies for larger boats? Development of a wooden boat building school such as found in Brooklin, Maine?  These could all be explored for our town. But what skills are strong—and untapped in your community?

2.  Track the trends and tap them. One trend I've been monitoring and tracking is the avid interest in small homes. Builders are springing up to feed this hunger. These days, many of us are moving from McMansions to affordable McCottages. Web sites are blooming on the topic and books are being written. There are Park models, Katrina-style cottages, even movable cottages from companies such as Tumbleweed Homes.

A small town with empty factories and a history of wood-working, building and construction could form a new industry for their town. Sears & Roebuck used to supply kit homes from their catalogs.  Signs indicate this is about to come full circle.

3.  Survey the citizens. What's missing from the retail mix? What retail or services would people support if it were developed? Maybe a bakery would prove popular, a friendly cafe featuring signature regional dishes created from locally-produced foods, a pet-hotel and dog park, a used-bookstore and coffee bar?

If there are empty spaces on Main Street, 'find a need and fill 'em.' Our town has hung its retail star on tourism. Now that tourism's down due to the economy, the main retail street has taken a hit. New vacancies are showing up.

Offering more shopping to fill local needs might be indicated for year-round patronage. For example, our town lacks a full-fledged shoe store. Why should a resident have to drive to the next town to buy a pair of jogging shoes?

New Bern NC uses public bear art

4. Use art as an economic driver. What entices new residents and businesses to want to move to a particular small town? What brings in tourists and visitors? What's the lure, the buzz? Some innovative small towns have discovered that artists and other 'cultural creatives' deliver the spark that makes a town vibrant. Take a look at Easton, PA and Paducah, KY as case studies.

Offer town-owned real estate to artists at low rents and structure buying programs for ownership. Allow artists the latitude to create a lively landscape for your town. Public art, including sculpture, fountains, murals and other public art adds color, fun and drama to streets, parks, buildings and public spaces.

5. People are searching for small, affordable homes. There are the starters (young families and singles), and down-sizers (often retirees), who want affordable and easy care housing. Do you have land? Consider building 'green villages?' What's a 'green village?'  Since no one's really doing this yet, you'd be among the innovators.

Think of Katrina-type cottages built around a village park or community garden, using affordable green technologies. Passive solar and solar panels, wind-generation, geo-thermal, roof-mounted water-catchment systems, triple insulation, maybe even composting toilets--all designed to be easy on the infrastructure. If you build it, would they come? The trend seems to say so.

Bear markets take innovation

6. Design an inclusive community facility. People want and need actual face-time in addition to virtual Facebook time.

Retirees want to leave a legacy, make a difference. Young people want to have activities that bring them together at a reasonable cost. Families with kids need daycare and other programs. Elders have a wish list of services, too.

Why not bring them together under one roof--in  a 'University of Innovation'. Mentoring, business support, classes, skills development: multi-generations coming together for mutual personal growth and support.

Once again, a community survey will reveal unmet needs. A development of this kind could spark and serve all the towns people.

What's lying fallow in your community? What human capital is ready to bloom, given an opportunity?

In our grandparents' day, it was called 'gumption.' Or maybe you've heard it called 'moxie.' Whatever you call it, it's right there ready to make your town vibrant. Think local. Buy local. Build local.