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ABOUT THE MAIN STREET MARTINSBURG PROGRAM:
Main Street Martinsburg, Inc. was officially designated a Main Street Program in August 1992. The purpose of the program is to assist the community in revitalizing the downtown commercial district through historic preservation. Being one out of twelve local Main Street Communities in West Virginia, Main Street Martinsburg receives strategic planning, technical assistance, and leadership from the state program, Main Street West Virginia. Through Main Street West Virginia, Main Street Martinsburg can offer technical planning, organizational and training assistance, and design assistance services for building façade improvements and maintenance. Started in 1988, Main Street West Virginia also acts as a liaison with other state agencies in addition to the parent organization, the National Main Street Center. The National Main Street Center, established in 1980, is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The National Main Street Center sponsors workshops and conferences, publishes training materials, offers a certification program in professional downtown management, produces the Great American Main Street Awards, and operates the National Main Street Network, a membership program that helps communities learn from each others experiences. Today the Main Street Program works with more than 1600 towns and cities across the country. The key to the Main Street success in downtown revitalization is the Main Street Four Point Approach:

ORGANIZATION:
Everyone working toward the same goal. The tough work of building consensus and cooperation among the groups that an important stake in the district can be eased by using the common-sense formula of volunteer-driven program and an organizational structure of board and committees.

PROMOTION:
Selling the image and promise of Main Street to all prospects by marketing the district’s unique characteristics to shoppers, investors, new businesses, and visitors. An effective promotion strategy forges a positive image through advertising, retail promotional activity, special events, and marketing campaigns carried out by local volunteers.
 

DESIGN:
Getting Main Street into top physical shape by capitalizing on its best assets, such as historic buildings and traditional downtown layout is just part of the story. An inviting atmosphere created through window displays, parking areas, signs, sidewalks, street lights, and landscaping conveys a visual message about what Main Street is and what it has to offer.
 

ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING:
Finding a new purpose for Main Street’s enterprises, by helping existing downtown businesses expand and recruiting new ones to respond to today’s market, Main Street programs help convert unused space into productive property and sharpen the competitiveness of business enterprises.

Other Links of Interest:

City of Martinsburg

Martinsburg-Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce

Berkeley County Convention & Visitors Bureau

The Apollo Theatre

The Art Centre

Heritage Craft Center

Art Berkeley

Martinsburg-Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce

Small Business Development Center (SBDC) of Blue Ridge CTC

The Roundhouse

Martinsburg-Berkeley County Public Library

Berkeley County Development Authority

Main Street Martinsburg is a collaboration of dedicated volunteers, business and property owners, concerned citizens, and local governments-working together to promote and enhance the economic strength of historic downtown Martinsburg. We are a member of the Main Street West Virginia program and accredited by The National Trust for Historic Preservation's National Main Street Program.