Down on Downtown

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has a Main Street program that seems rather promising. This Main Street section gives us the following language:

Your downtown or traditional commercial district is the most visible indicator of community pride, along with its economic and social health. It is either an asset or a liability in the effort to recruit new residents, new businesses and industries, retirees, tourists, and others to your community and to keep those you already have. Quality of life is what separates successful cities and towns from declining communities in the new millennium. Finally, your downtown or neighborhood commercial district is the visual representation for your community's heritage. The architecture of your commercial district is a physical expression of your community's history.

Be sure to check out their quotes page. I’ll be returning often to the complicated and colossal problems relating to downtown renovation which is so relevant for all of Randolph County, especially in Roanoke. Working with the language above, I think we’d all have to say downtown Roanoke would qualify as a major LIABILITY! Peace … or War!