Signs

The other day while on my morning walk, I noticed a few new signs up around Downtown.

Windgate Foundation

Bridges to Wellness

Main Street Siloam Springs

I'll see you Downtown!

--Karyn

Let's Talk Local

Just a quick note...

Are you subscribed to Main Street Siloam Springs' Let's Talk Local?

If not, it's a great way to have Downtown details delivered right to your email box.

Click here for more info.

I'll see you Downtown!

--Karyn

Holiday Open House

Main Street's Holiday Open House

is just around the corner.

The fun happens on 

Sunday, November 6th

from 1-5pm

Participating merchants will welcome you with refreshments and door prizes.  After the Holiday Open House you are invited to an Awards Reception and Tree Auction (in Fratelli's Rialto Room--116B South Broadway).

Remember to "shop local" this Holiday season!

I'll see you Downtown!

--Karyn

PS: Rumor has it you'll need to pick up a Holiday Open House Stamp Card from one of the participating merchants.  Turn it in before 5pm, and you just might win a prize!

Trick or Treat

It's that time again!

Time to put on your Halloween costume and head Downtown for the  

Main Street's Annual Trick or Treat!

Monday, October 31st

3:30-5:30pm

University and Broadway Streets

Downtown Merchants will offer treats to costumed kids!

Kids ages 12 and under are invited to participate.

Main Street Sudios is offering a great special during the Trick or Treat event.  They're located on University Street.  Head their way before or after collecting your treats for a great deal!

Trick or Treat!

I'll see you Downtown!

--Karyn

Custom Brick

Have you noticed the Custom Bricks lining the sidewalks?  Have you ever wondered how you can have your name be forever a part of Downtown?

This past weekend I learned that what is now home to Main Street Siloam Springs, Inc. and Drake Renovations (Connelly-Harrington House) used to be a hospital.  Were you born in that hospital; wouldn't it be fun to have your name on a brick just outside the building?  Or perhaps your husband proposed on a summer evening Downtown stroll?  Commemorate your special memory with a brick!

Click on the Main Street Siloam Springs, Inc. logo to the right and search for the "custom brick" tab.  Fill out the form, and you, too, can be a piece of Downtown Siloam Springs history.

I'll see you Downtown!

--Karyn

Gloria McEnroe Facade Renovation Grant

The Word on the Street

Notes from Main Street Siloam Springs, Inc.

By Meredith Bergstrom, Executive Director

I’d like to dwell on for a moment on a subject I admittedly know little about – architecture.

Upon moving to Siloam Springs, I had no framework for distinguishing the reasons why I loved about our downtown – I just felt the sense of place that various architects and investors had created in the visual aesthetics of the buildings. Now I realize that this visual interest created by our procession of storefronts is not an accident – each building has a unique history of attention to detail during design and construction. Each section of each building tells us an important story.

Wide and tall front windows were designed to invite travelers and residents inside. Regularly spaced and attractively framed windows on the second floors provide a sense of order and presence. Decorative cornices cap the buildings with various period styles of architectural ornamentation. Buildings in a row are defined by different heights and storefronts that both create distinction and flow into an appealing line. These buildings, as one expert has described them, “were designed and built to last for centuries.” They were built with the future of our community in mind.

The value of our historic architecture to our community’s heart and to its economic success not been lost upon our city. Main Street Siloam Springs’ Design committee focuses especially on helping business and property owners maintain the sense of permanence and aesthetic appeal of our downtown structures. These volunteers, many of them experts in the field, are developing an Historic Design Guide that will help guide the renovation of these buildings.

Furthermore, Main Street Siloam Springs is now offering the first annual Gloria McEnroe Façade Renovation Grant. Named after a long-time, dedicated board member and Siloam citizen, this matching grant will allocate up to $1000 on a maximum 50/50 matching basis for façade improvements in the Main Street service area. Applications are due no later than Friday, March 25th for review.

For further information about the Façade Renovation Grant, Main Street’s upcoming events, including Farmers Market dates and times visit our website:  mainstreetsiloam.com

Main Street Arkansas visits Siloam Springs

Photos by Hope Johnstone

This week, Siloam Springs received a visit from members of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program's Main Street Arkansas division. According to their website, the organization provides "technical assistance, design services and small business consultations that help create economic development in the state's downtown areas."
Susan Shaddox, Mark Miller and Greg Phillips from Little Rock were in town to meet with local downtown business owners and the Main Street Siloam Springs board to provide advice and strategic planning in order to help our historic downtown achieve its full potential.

Main Street Siloam Springs board members met on Tuesday evening, and afterwards a dinner was hosted by Todd and Shelley Simmons at their home. Thirty to forty board members and downtown business owners attended. The event was catered by Emelia's Kitchen, a Fayetteville restaurant that will be opening a new location this fall in Siloam Springs at the corner of Mount Olive and University.

Greg Phillips from Main Street Arkansas talks with Don Wardon, director of the Siloam Springs Museum.

Lovely lemon chicken from Emelia's Kitchen.

Bob Landsaw, a Main Street Siloam Springs board member, with Christina Drake, a realtor and owner of Local Flair Art Gallery.