Thinking creatively about opportunities for a small town Main Street

I applied for a state job concerning Main Street commercial district revitalization, but even though I have a lot of experience, my resume doesn't fit well with state agencies so we'll see.  We went through Downtown Brigham City a couple weekends ago, and I realized how challenging such a job is, given the variety of smaller towns in the state and the lack of a large number of "activation opportunities."

Capitol Theatre marquee, Brigham City.

 

The traditional downtowns are hurting, because they have long since been outperformed by sprawl-based retail--that's where the big box stores are, the car dealerships (car, really truck, sales is a thriving business in Utah--two of the ten largest dealership groups nationally are based here), and even little shopping strips with lots of independent retailers, restaurants, etc. 

Many of the downtowns, like in Ogden and Logan have lost tons of original buildings, so there are a lot of gaps in the "architecture of the ensemble."  

Plus, a big downside of Brigham Young's planning approach is the enormity of the average block--10 acres, although sure you can break those down into smaller blocks, and the very wide streets.  

So the scale is really off for pedestrian-focused activation and the blocks often feel quite empty (because they are).  

For example, a few months ago we were in Boise, Idaho, which is somewhat larger in population, and it felt more vibrant downtown, because the blocks are closer together and the streets aren't nearly as wide.  People weren't "so small" as part of the street fabric, and it felt more intimate.

Image of Downtown Boise from Budget Travel Magazine.

Even if cities are trying their best with events, amazing plantings, super well tended sidewalks and spaces, etc.

Setting up for the Latino Festival in Downtown Logan.

Part of it though is being creative about and working with the spaces you have, and these towns, even after sprawl, often still have a great range of fine buildings and other elements.  

Many of the smaller cities in Utah are known for big gateway signage over their main street, and Brigham City is no exception.

It also has remnant cinema buildings and other large spaces.

And yes, buildings where the great architectural details were overlaid with modern materials in the 1950s or 1960s in the desire to "modernize" and spaces where buildings were torn down, such as this one, below.

Interstitial space between buildings, walkway to rear/side yard, Main Street, Brigham City, Utah.

This could be an easily activated space, and the abutting buildings could punch out openings to the space creating inviting restaurant patios, outdoor selling space, etc.

 

A well designed side yard.  Photo from Yardzen.

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-- "Basic planning building blocks for urban commercial district revitalization programs that most cities haven't packaged: Part 1 | The first six"
--  "Basic planning building blocks for urban commercial district revitalization programs that most cities haven't packaged: Part 2 |  A neighborhood identity and marketing toolkit (kit of parts)"
--  "Basic planning building blocks for urban commercial district revitalization programs that most cities haven't packaged: Part 3 | The overarching approach, destination development/branding and identity, layering and daypart planning"
-- "Basic planning building blocks for "community" revitalization programs that most cities haven't packaged: Part 4 | Place evaluation tools"