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March 3, 2009

Federal Hill wins national award

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has named Federal Hill one of its 2009 "Great American Main Street" winners, calling it the "Hip Side of the Harbor."

The trust praised the nonprofit Federal Hill Main Street Inc. for helping to drive down vacancies and pump up investment.

Of the group, the trust said:

Its popular street festivals like the Spring Block Party, the Jazz & Blues Festival, and the Street Beat Festival attract thousands of people by offering live music and activities for young and old alike. Unique boutiques, gourmet restaurants, and trendy bars give festival-goers reasons to come back and keep the district humming all hours of the day and night.

The other honorees: El Dorado, Arkansas; Rehoboth Beach, Delaware; Broadway in Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Livermore, California.

All the winners, the trust says, "are truly the commercial and cultural hearts of their communities."

What Main Streets appeal to you?

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 9:29 AM | | Comments (3)
Categories: We're No. 1! (Or thereabouts)
        

Comments

"Its popular street festivals like the Spring Block Party, the Jazz & Blues Festival, and the Street Beat Festival attract thousands of people by offering live music and activities for young and old alike. Unique boutiques, gourmet restaurants, and trendy bars give festival-goers reasons to come back and keep the district humming all hours of the day and night."


It's funny that there aren't many locations with live music on a normal basis other than 8x10 on Cross Street. The Main Street Association doesn't want live music for bars and restaurants. There are only a couple of gourmet restaurants in Federal Hill that do well and they are Corks and Metropolitan. The Bicycle and the Wine Market aren't considered Federal Hill. There is absolutely no parking in the area because Main Street Association doesn't want out of towners to come to their neighborhood. There is only one small garage that is always full and the parking restrictions in the neighborhood are atrocious for people that don't live there. The festivals are great but at the same time the Main Street Association doesn't like bars in their neighborhood even though that is what keeps their value in their homes.

Can you still see the Harbor from anywhere other than the top of Federal Hill?

Thank you for posting a positive.

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About Jamie Smith Hopkins
Jamie Smith Hopkins, a Baltimore Sun reporter since 1999, writes about the regional economy. Her reporting on the housing market has won national and local awards. Hopkins is a Columbia native and has lived in Maryland all her life, save for 10 months spent covering schools in Ames, Iowa.
She trained to become a wonk by spending large chunks of time as a geek and an insufferable know-it-all.
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