Resources

Taylor

The Texas Main Street Program (TMSP) staff encourage communities to initiate and implement effective downtown revitalization efforts. The resources on this page will help in your community's preservation and downtown revitalization programs.

Donations to the Texas Main Street Program

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 was a monthly newsletter put together by TMSP staff and other professionals throughout the agency. The newsletter spotlights various designated communities, milestones, and events, as well as technical advice.

Main Street Jobs in Texas

  • Corsicana is looking for a Main Street/Tourism Assistant Director. Job description here.
  • Stephenville is looking for a Main Street Program Manager. Job description here.
  • Job Openings for openings in the Texas Historical Commission.
  • Career Center of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and National Main Street Center 
  • 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

Nancy Norton Wood - 2023 Anice B. Read Award of Excellence Winner

The Community Heritage Development celebrates the Anice B. Read Award of Excellence. It is named in honor of Anice B. Read, former Texas Historical Commission member and founder of the Texas Main Street Program. Every year we recognize an individual or organization for exemplary work in community revitalization, preservation planning and protection, or heritage tourism which significantly advances the impacts of historic preservation in Texas. The most recent winner, was 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. Congratulations Nancy!

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. The 2024 Real Places conference will be held April 3-5, 2024 in Austin, TX. 
  • For more than 30 years, the Texas Main Street Program has partnered with the Texas Downtown on hosting an annual statewide Downtown Revitalization Conference. The 2023 conference will be held October 24-27, 2023, in Nacogdoches, TX. 
  • 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 2024 conference will be held May 5-8, 2024, in Birmingham, AL.

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.

General Technical Design Resources