Beginnings
Beverly Main Streets began in 2002 when a small group of residents and entrepreneurs became concerned that small, locally-owned businesses were being threatened by gentrification. The group researched ways to protect downtown Beverly’s small-town identity and decided to adopt the national Main Street Model. The National Main Street Center is a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Center was started in 1980 in response to the rise of suburban shopping malls, which drew shoppers and diners from downtown districts that found it hard to compete. Today, there are close to 1,000 Main Streets organizations across the United States. The Main Street approach is centered around following a focused, deliberate path to revitalizing or strengthening a downtown, leveraging the district’s unique cultural, educational, and historic assets to set it apart.
Our organization’s work over the years has helped strengthen the assets of downtown Beverly and contributed to its character as a truly unique and creative destination. We support our business community by writing letters of support, providing resources for new and existing businesses, and holding monthly meetups where business owners can gather, share resources, and stay informed. We support our residents by giving them a platform, lending our voice at community meetings, and improving the built environment and facade of the city to make it a beautiful, equitable, and comfortable place to live. We support our local arts and culture scene by designing projects that create work for artists, holding gatherings that connect and inspire, and building collaborative relationships with the many cultural institutions that exist in Beverly.
What We Do
Some of our recurring projects designed to showcase artists and enhance the public art scene include the Red Fence Gallery, Art in the Park, our annual light pole banner program, and our Community Art Exhibition in collaboration with Endicott College. For the past 19 years and with the help of community sponsors, Beverly Main Streets has hosted and organized Arts Fest Beverly, which is a free street festival showcasing the work of 125+ artists from Beverly and beyond. This continues to be our biggest and best-attended event of the year.
Community events that celebrate local pride and drive residents downtown include our summer block parties that have been running since 2013, our annual celebration of Beverly’s New Year, and our seasonal Downtown Trick-or-Treat event, which connects businesses with the community and encourages families to spend time downtown.
Where We're Going
The Downtown 2020 Plan is a comprehensive revitalization program developed by Beverly Main Streets in 2010 and funded by local sponsors. This program was created after a series of surveys, streets interviews, and focus groups with a dedicated consultant. The final plan included initiatives such as the “Banking on Beverly” program, in which six local banks offered low-interest loans to aid with major building improvements, the Facade and Sign Improvement program, which supplied grants to help businesses improve their storefronts, and the STAR program, which helped businesses purchase flags, signage, and flower boxes. The Downtown 2030 Plan, developed from feedback collected in 2018, seeks to continue the work of the 2020 Plan and build on its achievements, as well as incorporate new initiatives such as forming a Downtown for All Committee, which seeks to establish accessibility, equitability, and diversity throughout our downtown district.
Today, Beverly Main Streets is led by a diverse and passionate Board of Directors and a small staff with a lot of heart. Our work is made possible by our sponsors, donors, committees, and volunteers–without whom none of this would be possible.
