Downtown Digest: Creating Beautiful Memories in Downtown Ravenswood
“What does your downtown mean to you?”
The question caught me off guard. I was sitting in a training seminar offered by Main Street America for all of the directors of our area’s Main Street communities, including Ripley, Parkersburg, and others. Ravenswood had been awarded OnTrac designation in the spring, which is the stepping stone program to full Main Street accreditation. I was considering applying to be the Ravenswood program director and was excited to attend the training to find out more about what I was getting myself into.
The trainer, Lisa, looked around the room as she asked the question, waiting for someone to speak up.
Slowly, she answered it herself. “When I was a kid, I used to go to Main Street with my family on weekends to have ice cream sundaes and walk down the street with my friends. I never forgot the fun and excitement of those days. Ever since then, all I’ve wanted is to recreate those feelings again. Years later, it was incredibly sad for me to see that ice cream parlor close and the downtown streets become empty and run-down. It has been my life’s mission to bring back the bustling downtown communities of times past and help ensure that today's children have an opportunity to create the same pleasant memories that I now hold so dear.”
With that, the room erupted into conversations about the good times and memories each person had made in their town’s historic commercial districts. Almost everyone had a story to tell about how those experiences motivated them to want to improve their downtowns in the present day.
I only remember our downtown area looking EXACTLY like it does now. From when I graduated from Ravenswood High in 2000 and moved away to when I returned to Ravenswood in 2018, there were no differences except for Las Fajitas, Courts Corner, and River City Perk. The physical therapy office was where Almeda’s used to be, and there were more vacant storefronts. The area was in a time warp, trapped in an age from 30+ years ago.
Seeing that so little had changed or improved in our downtown area made me sad. With so much traffic on Washington St. and crossing the bridge daily, why weren’t the businesses there doing better? Why hadn’t the buildings been painted and upgraded to be more attractive looking? Why did our town seem to largely ignore this entire area?
These were the questions on my mind as I considered applying to be the director. If I could impact our downtown area and help it be more fun, attractive, and prosperous, our entire town, especially the youth, would benefit. I also resonated with Lisa’s mission to help Ravenswood’s children create beautiful memories in our downtown.
I wanted to bring my small daughter downtown to eat at a bakery or ice cream parlor, shop at a second-hand children’s consignment clothing and toy store, participate in an art class at a local gallery, and meet up with her friends at a courtyard “pocket” park. Those were the types of memories that I missed out on as a child, but I wanted to make sure that MY daughter would get to have them instead.
So now it's your turn. What does our downtown mean to you? What do you want to see happen in downtown Ravenswood? Now that I've accepted the director position for the OnTrac project, now known as Downtown Ravenswood Partners, I’m determined to work with our local leaders and community members to make a better downtown Ravenswood a reality.
What memories do you want YOUR children and grandchildren to make in our downtown?Let me know in the Contact Form below.
