Author:

Judith Meyers Olinsky

Co-Authors:

Institution:

Lycoming Arts

Abstract

At the end of the 20th Century, industrial loss, social changes, and moving to the suburbs had led to small town decline across rural America, including in the Pennsylvania rivertowns. In Williamsport, a major rivertown of the Susquehanna River, we brought people back to town, enhanced community and created a renaissance through art and design. The Main Street Program was the revitalization method we used. Main Street is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation designed to save America’s little downtowns and their history.  The Main Street Program consists of four areas of focus: Organization, Design, Economic Restructuring and Promotion. What happened in Williamsport, what our Main Street Program fostered, is part of a national trend of the regionalization of the arts in America. This national trend is helping to create more sustainable communities throughout our nation. Regional arts are participatory. Instead of consuming, we create and we share what we create with each other and the community. Less consumption and more community is creating lifestyle changes that will help us to face the 21st Century challenges of technology, globalization, and climate change.