The Texas Main Street Program (TMSP) staff encourage communities to initiate and implement effective downtown revitalization efforts! We hope the resources on this page will help in your community's preservation and downtown revitalization programs.
Donations
The Anice and Julian Read Texas Main Street Program Fund has been created within the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission for donations. We continue to honor Mrs. Read's legacy today with our work and a belief that downtown revitalization is a crucial tool for enhancing the economic and social health of a community.
Main Street Matters
The Main Street Matters, our monthly newsletter, is put together by TMSP staff and other professionals throughout the agency. The newsletter not only spotlights various designated communities, milestones, and happenings around Texas, but also provides great technical advice.
Main Street Jobs, Texas
- Conroe is looking for a Downtown Manager. Job description can be found here.
- Hillsboro is looking for a Main Street Manager. Job description can be found here.
- Career Center of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and National Main Street Center
- Job Openings page of this website for openings in the Texas Historical Commission
- Texas Municipal League Main Street positions for programs housed within city government are also generally posted in the TML Career Center
Financing information
Main Street Design
Awards
Every year the Anice B. Read Award of Excellence in the Community Heritage Development is open to the public. The most recent winner is Nancy Norton Wood, who was the Bastrop Main Street program manager from 2007 - 2016. Continuing after her retirement, she still continues to make a significant impact on Downtown Bastrop through the tenets of community revitalization. The next winner will be announced at the 2024 Real Places Conference.
Annual Conferences
- THC's Real Places Conference provides a wide range of preservation-related training that addresses the needs of historic buildings but also the broader field of preservation that includes heritage tourism, placemaking, etc. Attend this conference to expand your preservation network.
- For more than 30 years, the Texas Main Street Program has partnered with the Texas Downtown Association on hosting an annual statewide Downtown Revitalization Conference. The conference is scheduled to be held next year in Nacogdoches, October 24-27, 2023.
- The national Main Street organization—Main Street America—holds an annual conference, Main Street Now, that draws thousands of Main Street professionals from across the country. The 2023 conference will be held in Boston, March 27-29, 2023.
Webinars
- In conjunction with the Certified Local Government program, the Texas Main Street design team developed a series of webinars to aid communities with building a strong preservation program. The topics include protection by designation, historic preservation ordinances, design guidelines and standards, certificate of appropriateness review, and preservation incentives. These webinars assist cities of all sizes in learning historic preservation best practices at the local level.
- Main Street staff and board members have access to the TMSP Online Resource Library, which features a host of educational material, reference documents, and videos.
Partner Programs and Incentives
Many other preservation resources are available to you within this website that provide information on additional tools and programs, which are helpful to the downtown revitalization effort.
- Certified Local Government
- Heritage Tourism
- Codes for historic buildings
- Standards and guidelines
- Preservation tax incentives
General Technical Design Resources
- The National Park Service (NPS) preservation briefs provide guidance on preserving, rehabilitating, and restoring historic buildings.
- The General Services Administration (GSA) offers offers instruction on historic preservation technical procedures.
