Emporia Main Street's DESIGN programs are run by a committee of volunteers along with Main Street staff. The goal of our design initiatives is to create a vibrant downtown commercial district by enhancing the district's physical and visual assets.
Our design programs work to improve downtown buildings, parking areas, street furniture, signs, sidewalks, street lights, and landscaping. Our design programs also help individual business owners with building design, window display implementation, education, and advice. All design activities are focused on making downtown a welcoming place for residents and visitors, and a place for businesses to thrive.
Additionally, the Design Committee works to preserve the legacy and stories of the Downtown Historic District through a variety of historic preservation activities.
Design Programs
Adopt-a-Garden
Emporia's downtown gardens are all maintained by volunteers. If you love to garden, ask us how you can adopt one!
Historic Tax Credits
If you own property within Downtown Historic District, you may qualify for tax credits on maintenance, upgrades or redevelopment.
Veterans Banners
We honor our heroes every fall with a downtown display of over 200 light pole banners featuring area veterans.
Beyond the Banners
Beyond the Banners is a keepsake book that was created in response to the overwhelming popularity of our Veterans Banner Project.
Other Design Committe Projects
Want to support a vibrant downtown atmosphere?
Our design programs seek to create a pleasant, welcoming environment downtown, which draws shoppers, residents, and visitors. This ultimately benefits not just downtown, but our community as a whole.
Interested in joining the design committee?
The Design Committee perfect for creative types who are willing to their hands dirty, as well those who are interested in or knowledgable about Emporia's history. Click the button below if you'd like to join!
Design Education
How to DK
Big events are now a “thing” in Emporia. We have a series of international events that draw thousands of people into the community, but we need your help to keep events growing. We also need you to do a few things to ensure that you actually make money during large events (your profitability is important…
Continue Reading >A New Process to Honor our Veterans
The Veterans Banner project is easily one of our favorite projects at Emporia Main Street. Approximately 250 veterans have been honored through this process with photos collected, banners produced and biographies recorded. It seems that every week we have a request for a banner and updates for banner sponsorship process. The banner process for Emporia…
Continue Reading >Spring Cleaning
In the world of consumer physical interaction with businesses, we talk about “passive” and “active” forms of interaction. When a consumer is in “active” mode, they know the business that they are going to shop, they go directly to the business, and they conduct their transaction. Consumers that engage in “passive” interactions are aware of…
Continue Reading >Honoring our History
One of the great parts about working for Emporia Main Street is the ability to compare Emporia to other communities. Comparative analysis is often used to determine best practices for development, or common problems that towns should avoid. If you look at Emporia’s early history, compared to other Kansas communities, it becomes abundantly clear that…
Continue Reading >2016 Year in Review
Emporia Main Street works with a variety of members and partners to push new initiatives and create new opportunities every year. We appreciate everyone’s support as we work to create a better Emporia, and it is important to occasionally look back at what has been accomplished before moving forward. The following is a brief look back at…
Continue Reading >“Third Place” Creation
A few weeks ago, we had a newsletter article that referenced the term “Third Places“. The inclusion of the third place ( sometimes called “Third Space”) term resulted in a number of inquiries from readers. Third Place usually refers to a place that you like to hang out. Think of your favorite coffee shop, a…
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