In September 1980, the City of Seguin was notified that the community was selected by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to be a part of a new downtown revitalization program – the National Main Street Center.
Like thousands of small cities across the nation, downtown Seguin was suffering as civilization changed from a pedestrian lifestyle to an auto centric lifestyle that included strip centers and big box stores. No more were the days where you walked to downtown to shop, dine, go to the bank, see the doctor and socialize with your neighbors. As vacancies in downtowns increased, communities searched for solutions that included demolishing their historic downtowns or destroying historic character to create modern looks.
“In the late 1970’s there became a realization that communities were losing what made them special, what made them unique. No two downtowns are the same, each has its own building stock, layout, independent businesses and story; meanwhile, every strip center has a similar look with basically the same tenants,” said Kyle Kramm, Seguin Main Street & CVB Director, “The National Main Street Center was seen as the solution to this problem – revitalizing downtowns while preserving the historic character of the community.”
The program was to bring together state and federal resources to assist cities smaller than 50,000 residents. The program was intended to be a public-private cooperative that brought local businesses and industry to the table for discussions of funding downtown development and incorporating the resources from the state and federal programs.
While the federal resources intended for the program were severely cut within the first months of the project, the pilot program found much success as the participating communities stepped up in a big way with a resound focus on their downtowns. It was the passion of the locals, and still is, that makes the Main Street program work.
Flash forward 40 years, the small one-year pilot program has been recognized as one of the most successful revitalization programs that now has over 1600 communities working towards the betterment of their communities.
Seguin citizens should be proud to have been one of the first 30 Main Street communities and that the early successes held in Seguin led to the growth of the national program. Throughout the 40 years that Seguin has worked on its downtown revitalization, there have been setbacks, but the positive momentum of downtown Seguin continues. Successes like burying of the overhead utilities, refurbishing of Central Park and the fountain and dozens of profitable businesses all are a part of the story of downtown Seguin that ensures downtown Seguin retains its unique sense of place.
The Seguin Main Street Program thanks the community for its support over the last 40 years and looks forward to what the next 40 will include.