Sidebar by Marcia Darnell
Main Street – January 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine
Lake City likes Main Street
Another small town in Central Colorado is on the Main Street wagon, and happy about it. Lake City, population 400, joined Main Street in February, 2005.
“It’s a great program,” says Executive Director Marcia Connell, “especially for a small town like Lake City.”
Her volunteer committees are design, promotion, organization, and economic restructuring. Hers is the only paid position in the group.
“We have a lot of volunteers,” she says.
Thus far, the group has published a twice-a-year newsletter for residents and businesses, and printed a two-year calendar with lithographs of different architectural elements of the downtown district. They’ve also mounted several fundraising events, which succeed both in making money and drawing visitors downtown.
[Downtown Lake City]
“We’re focused on educating the public on historic preservation,” Connell says.
And it seems to be working. The tiny town has received a Preserve America designation, and a 2006 National Main Street designation (the only community in Colorado to earn one). This year they also earned a Governor’s Award for Excellence, for turning a vacant lot onto an open-air market.
Another big award is that there are now no vacant storefronts downtown.
Connell says the group is pleased with the Main Street program.
“I would recommend it to other small towns,” she says, “because everything is lined out, you don’t have to recreate the wheel.”
Lake City’s next project is to update and expand its boardwalk. Work is slated to begin next spring. For more information check out: www.lakecitydirt.com.
